Spring musical goes virtual

With COVID-19 contact tracing, the drama club presents the spring musical, “A Chorus Line,” virtually

Danielle M Carlisi, Social Media Manager|May 4, 2021

Despite their best efforts, the drama club presents the spring musical, “A Chorus Line,” virtually. “I’m pretty happy that we are able to still perform, even if it is a little bit of a let down to perform for a camera; we are still able to demonstrate our talent and effort,” senior Aaron Podoris said. The show was supposed to be performed live but contact tracing disrupted rehearsals.

The annual spring musical brings joy and entertainment, but despite the cast and crews greatest efforts, a live performance is no longer happening.

“I feel crushed for all involved.  I feel for my students who have worked so hard; I feel for the parents who just wanted to see their son or daughter up there on the stage again; I feel for the staff members who support the program, and I feel for the students who aren’t even in the program because it is just another reminder of what we lost,” drama teacher Eric Wells said. “But in the end, when I was able to work with my students in person at the stage and hear them sing, see them act and witness the bond we created as the cast to put on a full blown musical in a pandemic. There is all the justification I need of why we attempted to do this. The students I have this year in the musical are special. They showed up with heart and smiles every day and they made my year for me.”

The drama club spent about four months rehearsing “A Chorus Line” in the hopes of performing live since the students returned back to school full time; but returning back to school presented more problems for the musical.

“I would rather the performance be in the theater than online but because it is online, at least the work people have put into the show will be seen,” sophomore Daniel Perkovic said.

Contact tracing left many students stuck at home, so rehearsals became more ineffective. Drama teacher Eric Wells makes the required adjustments to allow a virtual performance.

“I was a bit disappointed at first since it’s my first show, but I think it will be a good thing. It’s better than having no show at all,” sophomore Alexis Mehalko said. “Plus, it eliminates the fear of having a live audience.”

A specific date is still up in the air, but Wells is currently working on splicing footage of their rehearsals together to put together the show. The recording will be aired online with viewing tickets available.

“Overall, I’ve learned that no matter what happens, this show will be the best it can be. We have an amazing cast this year and an amazing director. Mr. Wells tried so hard to give us the best experience possible and he did,” Mehalko said. “Theatre is a great way to make friends, express yourself and even though it wasn’t the same as last year, nothing really changed. We’re still performing and having fun like we used to.”