This year’s O’Gorman High School spring musical is “Curtains,” taking place the week of April 21st, with shows on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. Monday night is the Parent Show. Auditions were held February 24-25th and rehearsals began March 3rd.
“Curtains” takes place in Boston in 1959. It is a show within a show, as the O’Gorman cast plays a real acting company. Jessica Cranshaw, played by junior Audrey Arend, is a very untalented singer for the company, and is mysteriously killed at the end of a show. Lieutenant Frank Cioffi, played by senior Jacob Thomas, searches for clues among the company and theatre. The songs carry the plot of the musical as the detectives seek to find the murderer. “Curtains” is a comedy and mystery until the last curtain falls and the show comes to a close.
There are 59 people in the cast and roughly 110 in technical crew, pit, and costuming. Sophomore Lillian Kerr plays Bambi in “Curtains,” and told me her character is “super feisty, loves theatre, and wants more than anything to prove her value to the company. Bambi always corrects someone if they get her name wrong and isn’t afraid to put herself out there.” She added, “I love musical because it is a bunch of very uniquely talented people coming together to make one amazing show!”
Having been a part of seven O’Gorman High School shows, senior Maddie Devaney’s favorite musical was last year’s “Guys and Dolls.” Her favorite part about being in musicals, and what she is most looking forward to again this year is “creating memories and spending time with my friends.” Devaney is a part of the ensemble cast along with track, proving you can participate in multiple O’Gorman activities.
Ms. Fester has been the musical director since 1999. She said “Mr. Engbers, Mr. Koch, Mr. Rhone, Mrs. Dexter, Ms. Schulte, and I meet several times before auditions to get things in order. Our choreographer, Ms. Meredith Molseed, flies in from Florida and teaches all of the choreography in four days.”
The tech crew works behind the scenes to create an excellent set for the actors and actresses. The crew is led by Mr. Rhone, the shop teacher. Senior Brayden Carlson, who has been in tech since sophomore year, said, “Right now in tech we are working on building a set, which involves a variety of painting and construction. A lot of work and effort is being put into it so it can look the best it can. I’m looking forward to incorporating it into the show once it’s finished!” Once they are done building, they work with the cast to rehearse the new props. There are currently 10 to 15 people consistently helping.
Mr. Koch, who is the pit director and plays the character Sasha, quoted, “I think the thing to remember is that these student musicians are performing the same music that the Broadway musicians play. We get the real books, not an “easy” version, so it requires a lot of practice and a lot of rehearsing, but they really work hard and make it happen every year! The other thing is that we generally have a number of people that play multiple instruments throughout the show, and we have people that are learning entirely new instruments this year!” The band rehearses three days a week and then everyday once they move into the pit. Sophomore Charlotte Hanson is a percussionist that plays many instruments, like the fire and cowbell, “I was asked by Mr. Koch to be in the pit and some of my friends were in it so I thought I would try it,” said Hanson. “My favorite song in the musical is Thataway.”
Right after the cast list comes out, the costuming team already begins with measurements and pieces outfits together for each cast member. Details from hats to wigs to shirts to ties to shoes to suspenders are all hand picked. Pieces are picked to correspond with the character, the time period, as well as the rest of the cast. There are only about 15 student costumers, who are assisted by a group of moms. Costumers are usually working after school until around 6pm everyday after the cast list comes out. “We have an array of costumes we have accumulated over the past 50 years, and we also have an amazing crew of sewers that make more costumes from scratch,” said junior Brenna Kestel. “Even though it’s a ton of work, especially for a giant show like “Curtains,” that has countless costume changes, it is a lot of fun to see it all come together, and I cannot wait to cheer on our cast backstage during show week!” Junior Leah Nielsen’s favorite part of costuming is “helping backstage, giving friends costumes, and talking upstairs with the other costumers.”
If you are like me and were curious how the musical is chosen every year, Ms. Fester said “Mr. Engbers, Mr. Koch, and I meet several times in the fall and create a list of possibilities. Then we each go and research the shows and come back and discuss each option. We order the perusals for the shows and look over characters, orchestration, and designs”.
This year, seniors Ellie Huber and Nora Boetel auditioned for the musical for their first time. Huber commented “I wanted to experience something that I hadn’t yet at O’Gorman for my senior year! Though this is out of my comfort zone, I’m definitely enjoying it! When asked what advice she would give next year’s potential newcomers, she said “I was nervous about the singing and dancing auditions. These nerves quickly faded with everyone being so welcoming even if I sounded bad or messed up the dance!”
If you are interested in auditioning next spring, you will have to come learn a dance with the group and audition it the next day in a group of 6. The first day, after learning the dance, you will sing 30 seconds of a song of your choosing in front of the directors. There are roles for anyone, whether that be in the ensemble, a lead, in the band, a part of tech, or a student director. Tickets for “Curtains” go on sale April 6th and will be available on Bound! Come support our theatre program this spring for “Curtains”!
