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24 | April 20, 2017 | The Mokena Messenger life & Arts mokenamessenger.com Lincoln-Way East breathes new life into classic musical Amanda Stoll, Assistant Editor Fresh, young and energetic are not words director Gina Vitucci said most people usually use to describe “Oklahoma!” The 1943 Broadway musical has been done time and time again by adults, but Vitucci said she thinks it’s a perfect show for high school students. “I love ‘Oklahoma!’ with young people because it really is about teenagers,” she said. Although the show will be just the second one Vitucci has directed, she has a lifelong passion for theater and the experience to back it up. “I love it. It’s my social life. It’s also my passion. It’s also my craft that I’m always trying to perfect,” Vitucci said. “Oklahoma!” is often considered one of the classic musicals. Written by Rodgers and Hammerstein, the plot features a love story between characters Curly McLain and Laurey Williams. The part of Curly in East’s production is played by senior Collin Kavanaugh, who has been involved with the musical productions at East since his freshman year. “Musical theater just combines two of my passions, singing and acting,” Kavanaugh said. “Being able to be up there on stage for two and a half hours and put on a show for an audience is really a cool experience.” Kavanaugh has also been involved in many other musical productions with Curtain Call Theatre, now in Mokena, including “Oliver,” “The Sound of Music” and “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.” “It’s made this experience meaningful to them. And, I think they’re taking a lot of pride in it.” Gina Vitucci - Director of “Oklahoma!” on the ensemble cast digging into each character’s history Senior Lindsey Doody, who transferred to East from North this year, plays Laurey Williams, and was involved in other high school shows at North before coming to East. “It’s really fun to play really different people and try to tap into a different part of yourself,” Doody said. She said it’s also fun to see other students acting onstage as something completely different from their normal personalities and watching some students come out of their shell. In addition to “Oklahoma!” being a great way for students to learn about the origins of musical theater, Vitucci said it was a great show that gets a lot of students involved. The show incorporates students from both North and East, so she said they wanted to pick a show where a lot of students could be onstage. “I think the amount of people up onstage kind of gives it more of a real-life [feel]” Kavanaugh said. “For example, we’re at a party scene, and you don’t usually have like four people — the main characters — at a party. There’s obviously going to be tons of people.” While all of the students onstage may not have character names in the script or speaking roles, Vitucci said it was important to her that the students dig into the meaning of the show. “I think they’ve enjoyed learning about these people,” Vitucci said. “You have to learn a little bit about history and learning what kind of people these are, what they’ve been through, really digging into the meaning of the show and not just treating like a beautiful concert with some lovely singing and dancing. But who are these characters?” To help the students in the ensemble cast get into the show, she said she had each of them create a character with a name and backstory. “I think they liked that, and I think it’s made this experience meaningful to them,” Vitucci said. “And I think they’re taking a lot of pride in it.” Freshman Anmarie D’Ortenzio, who is playing the part of Aunt Eller in the show, said she thinks the ensemble cast is a great way for students who don’t have as much free time to still be onstage. “I think that gives an opportunity for kids to explore theater, which is great,” D’Ortenzio said. D’Ortenzio said she enjoys theater because it gives her a way to express herself while hanging out with her friends. “All my best friends are in theater, and it’s so fun,” D’Ortenzio said. Sam Ruby, who is playing the part of peddler Ali Hakim, said he enjoys the characters in the musical, as Seniors Collin Kavanaugh (left, as Curly) and Lindsey Doody (Laurey) rehearse “Oklahoma!” April 11 at Lincoln-Way East High School. Photos by Amanda Stoll/22nd Century Media “Oklahoma!” Lincoln-Way East Fine Arts Center 201 Colorado Ave, Frankfort Show times: 7 p.m. Thursday, April 20 7 p.m. Friday, April 21 7 p.m. Saturday, April 22 3 p.m. Sunday, April 23 Cost: $10 Tickets: www.lwemusic. org well as the music itself. “There are just little fun things to work with in the musical, like different kinds of props and the different sets and the different things you can do behind the scenes of the actual plot that’s taking place,” the Lincoln-Way East sophomore said. Senior Kelli Arseneau, who is playing the role of Ado Annie, said the show doesn’t have any flashy sets, The cast sings during a rehearsal for Lincoln-Way East’s spring musical, “Oklahoma!” The group will perform at 7 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday and at 3 p.m. Sunday. so it’s all about the acting and performance on stage. “It’s always fun to see the show from where it starts to where it grows to and just to be able to share that production with everyone,” Arseneau said. The students will perform “Oklahoma!” at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, as well as a matinee show at 3 p.m. on Sunday. “I am so excited for people to see it,” D’Ortenzio said. “I think everyone is going to feel that energy and just energetic vibe out in the audience; they’re going to realize ‘Wow, this is great.’”
mokenamessenger.com life & arts the Mokena Messenger | April 20, 2017 | 25 Young actors bring ‘The Music Man Jr.’ to Mokena Jr. High Amanda Stoll Assistant Editor Now in its second season, the Mokena Junior High School spring musical has grown from 45 cast and crew members to 60. This year, the group is to perform “The Music Man Jr.” under the direction of district music teacher Karen Bussean, who directs the bands at the junior high and middle schools and teaches general music at the elementary school. “My hope is that they get a love for musical theater, expand their horizons a little bit,” Bussean said. “It’s really just another way to express yourself, another art form.” Bussean, who started working at the district five years ago, said she wanted to give the students as many opportunities to explore art and music as possible, and the theater group is another way for her to do that. Playing the part of Professor Harold Hill is seventhgrader Justin Eckert. Hill comes to town to sell band instruments and uniforms, with the intention of skipping town afterward. The part of Marian Paroo, the town librarian and piano teacher, is played by eighthgrader Joey Berardelli. Both Eckert and Berardelli said their favorite scene in the show is the piano lesson scene, but the most challenging scene for the two lead characters is the final scene, in which they sing “Till There Was You” together. “I like to sing. I like to act a lot,” said Eckert, who added he enjoys being a part of the theater group at the school and has made a lot of friends through it. Berardelli said she enjoys the rush of being onstage. “When you’re singing [and] when you’re acting, you can kind of be someone Mokena Junior High students (left to right) Ryan Berardelli, Danielle Santoro, Grace Fitzpatrick , Savannah Novotny, Maddy Overstreet and Kalli Jasper rehearse for Mokena Junior High School’s upcoming production of “The Music Man Jr.” The students will perform the musical Friday, April 21, and Saturday, April 22. Photos by Amanda Stoll/22nd Century Media ‘The Music Man Jr.’ Where: Mokena Junior High School, 19815 Kirkstone Way, Mokena Tickets: At the door or in the main office Cost: $6 When: 7 p.m. Friday, April 21 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. Saturday, April 22 else and forget other things for a while,” Berardelli said. She said she enjoys the energy of the show and is looking forward to continuing her involvement with theater next year at Lincoln-Way Central. Not only are the students gaining experience singing, dancing and acting onstage, Bussean said there are also a number of students who are not necessarily involved in the music department but have been working as part of the cast for the shows. With help from parent volunteers, the students are learning about set building, lights, sound, and props, and they will be running the whole show themselves. Bussean said the students have also been involved with building and painting the set for the show. “They created this. This is about them,” she said. “I could have had parents come in and do it, but I think the kids would have missed out.” Bussean’s husband, Tim, is a set designer who worked for 20 years as a technical theater teacher at area high schools and has been helping with the set design and teaching the students how to use power tools, measure and build the sets. “I would have no idea what to do,” Karen Bussean said. “I’m very thankful to have his expertise in that area.” This year, she said they are to have a rotating set onstage — an impressive feat on it’s own. “These kids will go into high school with some knowledge,” said Karen Bussean, who added she hoped they will continue their involvement with theater into high school. Karen Bussean said the Mokena Educational Foundation and the PTA have been very generous and supportive of the musical, as well as Whitmore Ace Hardware, Schillings Lumber and Jean Lachat Photography. “The Music Man Jr.” features many of the same favorite songs from the original musical, like “Gary, Indiana,” “Piano Lesson,” “Seventy- Six Trombones” and “Shipoopi,” but with a shortened overall show length designed for younger performers. Joey Berardelli (far left), who plays Marian Paroo, and other cast members rehearse for the upcoming production of “The Music Man Jr.” at Mokena Junior High School.
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