After three long months of rehearsals, the cast and crew of Geneva High School’s Seussical The Musical are eager to perform for an audience. The Dr. Seuss inspired performances, which run between April 24th and April 26th, include many fun and unique characters that are sure to make people laugh.
“My favorite part of the musical has to be all of the Cat in the Hat’s interjections and actions,” pit orchestra member Alexa Szumny said. “It adds audience interaction into the musical and immerses them into the story which makes it more fun for everyone involved.”
Since Seussical The Musical is a family-friendly show, the cast members look forward to seeing many young audience members. Children under the age of six even receive free admission to the show.
“I am looking forward to the audience engagement and all the kids coming to see the show,” lead cast member Tess Engerman said. “We are so happy that the musical this year is family friendly to let the little kids see an amazing show.”
While the cast are now ready to perform, there were many hours of rehearsals to get to this point. Although the work was difficult, the cast enjoyed the time spent together.
“Seussical rehearsals have been extremely rewarding and a good time,” Engerman said. “I loved getting to know all of the cast and crew because everyone is so kind and talented.”
With props, costumes, singing, dancing, and acting, there are many different parts of the musical that must fit together seamlessly to create the final product. The cast and crew’s number one priority is to make a flawless and entertaining show for their audience.
“It is my job to have a vision for the entire show and see that vision come to fruition,” director Jay Fontanetta said. “This includes determining what the show is trying to say, determining what the writers intend, staging the show, having a concept for the set, lighting, sound, scheduling rehearsals, etc.”
Due to the musical elements, there is added difficulty of managing the singing and live orchestral music to the rest of the production.
“The show has a lot of music – even the dialogue has underscoring, so figuring out how to stage a scene knowing music would be there was certainly a challenge, but an exciting one,” Fontanetta said.
Even with the many moving parts, the cast and crew have worked tirelessly to make this production cohesive.
“This musical is like a puzzle with all the parts that need to click just right but when it does it’s a beautiful work of art,” Szumny said.
Many of the cast and crew have spent their last four years at Geneva High School participating in theatre. For the seniors in the show, this is their last time performing on the GHS stage.
“My favorite part about being in the musical is getting to play with my friends for the last time,” Engerman said. “We have spent all four years in the theatre department together and each year we become more and more bonded.”
As the rehearsals come to an end, the cast and crew of Seussical The Musical look forward to finally showing off their hard work and dedication to an audience.
“I look forward to them finally getting the audiences they deserve,” Fontanetta said.
