DECEMBER 2016
1 6 9 0 0 W. G E B H A R D T R D .
BROOKFIELD, WISCONSIN
VOL 64 ISSUE 3
Brookfield Central Tyro
Consider yourself amazed as BC’s Oliver! hits the stage Valerie Yurk and Emily Otten KIRAT MOKHA
KIRAT MOKHA
LEFT: Megan Moretti (‘17), Sophie Bohr (‘17), Jillian Rosenbecker (‘19), and Forrest Hipp (‘22) bond over their role as orphans. “We would quietly shout ‘me, you, us, team’ to get pumped for the opening number,” Moretti said. RIGHT: Henning Mahn (‘18) and Sophie Michalski (‘18) stare into each other’s eyes after a finishing their number. After the performance, Michalski said, “It was really easy pretending to fall in love with Henning because I honestly love the kid!”
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ased on the novel Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens, Brookfield Central’s performance of Oliver! The Musical dominated the box office at the Sharon Lynne Wilson Center Nov. 18-20. Lionel Bart’s musical adaptation brought the novel to life in a more colorful way. As the curtains opened, the audience was taken to a London workhouse in the mid-1800s, where a group of young boys, faces smudged with dirt, are longing for luxury and comfort. The ensemble sings the opening song, “Food, Glorious Food,” and Oliver Twist, played by Michael Long (‘22), appears at the end of this number, asking the famous question: “Please, sir, may I have some more?” Mr. Bumble, owner of the workhouse and played by Henning Mahn (‘18), and Widow Corney, played by Sophie Michalski (‘18), kick Oliver out of the workhouse and sell him off to the streets,
where he runs away to find a band of child thieves led by Mr. Fagin. Fagin, played by Brett Fong (‘17), takes him in as a member of his gang. Oliver begins to befriend Nancy, played by Emma Borkowski (‘17), the local bar owner’s wife. Despite Nancy’s abusive relationship with her husband, portrayed by Kevin Fuller (‘17), she stays with him and continues to help Oliver. Oliver’s life is a series of ups and downs, with his adoption and his kidnapping, and Nancy cares for and eventually saves Oliver by the time of her death. Oliver is returned to his adopter, Mr. Brownlow, played by Robert Purnell (‘18). A major creative decision that the Oliver! directors made was to cast Wisconsin Hills Middle School students in the production and to cast seventh grader Michael Long as the lead. Many audience members had mixed opinions about this casting decision, some saying that there was
a noticeable difference in maturity level and others countering that the younger performers made the experience more realistic. Leslie Bonilla (‘17) agrees with the latter: “I liked that they tried to be more accurate with the ages of the boys. They also made it more realistic with the accents and costumes too, and overall I thought it was a good decision.” Alice Zheng (’17) even commented, “At first I thought the middle schoolers were in high school - I mean, the freshmen do seem to get shorter every year!” .....However, some criticize the decision, saying that these major roles were given to these students at such a young age and that it would be challenging for anybody to fill the high schoolers’ shoes. Nikki Ranney (‘18), who took the stage as Charlotte, admits “[The middle schoolers] definitely had to step it up to match with the high schoolers. During the
first rehearsals, you could tell that they were middle schoolers based on maturity. But as we had more and more rehearsals, they stepped it up to a high school level.” Ranney adds that the high schoolers accepted the students from WHMS and the whole cast became very close with them, saying that “We became their moms by the end of it!” Henning Mahn, seen on stage as Mr. Bumble and behind the scenes as the Assistant Stage Manager, describes the last few months of daily rehearsals and theatrical processes as “incredibly stressful.” .....“The biggest thing I took away from Oliver! was time management and prioritizing. I had to switch out of my character’s mindset to suddenly be in a crew mindset, and it was hard to make that switch so often,” Mahn said. However, he goes on to reflect that it was all worth it. .....As the curtain dropped after the
last show’s final scene, everybody in the cast and crew was overwhelmed with the sudden realization that all of their tech week exhaustion had paid off, and the bonds they had formed with each other would no longer be built upon every day during rehearsal. The cast had grown very close over the past few months and ‘considered themselves to be part of the family.’ “Everybody was crying when that curtain fell, and I completely lost it, too,” Mahn adds. Overall, the BCHS Theatre Department’s production of Oliver! came as a challenge to much of the cast, between welcoming WHMS performers and mastering accent, and through these challenges, the cast and crew bonded to perform an overwhelmingly successful show. By the time the final bows were done, the cheering in the Harris auditorium could have been heard all the way back at the high school.
Dual Enrollment offers real-life training Ruby Isle bought by PJR Leslie Bonilla Opinions Editor
Ravina Sachdev Features Editor
High schoolers often assume that graduating from college is the biggest milestone that one will ever reach, and that it’s by far the hardest thing to accomplish in life. While it’s true that earning a college diploma is a monumental task, the latter part of the assumption above is incorrect. In fact, a common worry college students have is landing the right career after graduation. Finding an enjoyable, manageable, and financially rewarding job that they are well suited for is a challenge that these students face; however, there is a solution to this problem - the Dual Enrollment Academy. .....As stated by Waukesha County Technical College (WCTC), the Dual Enrollment program “is designed to give high school seniors a jump in high-demand occupations, awarding
WHAT’S INSIDE
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participants with a WCTC certificate upon successful completion along with earning high school credits.” For example, a senior from BCHS is able to enroll in the Welding/Fabrication course at WCTC and can attend the class on the college campus daily. The Welding/Fabrication course would consist of “learning the basic skills necessary to program and operate computer-controlled press brakes, and shears, plasma arc cutting machines and microprocessor-based power sources.” .....What sets the Dual Enrollment program apart is that students are trained for the job in a professional and real-life setting. With millions of dollars invested in the machinery and equipment that students use, there is no stone left unturned in preparing them for actual on-the-job situaELLEN LINNIHAN
MR. BC BACK IN ACTION PG. 2
tions. In this distinguished program, students would be dually enrolled at Brookfield Central High School and at WCTC, hence the title Dual Enrollment. After passing the Welding course at WCTC, they would be primed and prepared to go straight into the workforce after high school. But where did their college education disappear off to? With Dual Enrollment, students would have attended real college courses during his or her senior year and would now be ready to work straight out of high school. .....Without question, the Dual Enrollment Academy benefits all those who enroll, and it is strongly encouraged that students that are interested in enrolling or have questions about the program should contact Mr. Groh in Student Services, or email him at grohj@elmbrookschools.org. BROOKS WALLS
BC BOYS’ SOCCER’S EXTRAORDINARY SEASON PG. 4
.....Last May, PJR Properties LLC purchased Brookfield’s Ruby Isle Shopping Center for $17.8 million. PJR is an investment group affiliated with Piggly Wiggly Midwest LLC. The previous owner was the Ruby family, which built the shopping center in the 1960’s, according to Milwaukee Business News. .....As an investor, Ruby Isle’s new owner bought the property purely as a real estate opportunity. Chief operating officer (COO) Gary Suokko of Piggly Wiggly Midwest explained the company will be “strictly a landlord,” as written by the Milwaukee Business Journal. All tenants within the shopping center will still have leases between their parent companies and Ruby Isle. Even Pick ‘n Save, the anchor tenant that attracts customers to Ruby Isle, will operate VALERIE YURK
SENIORS ON COLLEGE APPS PG. 5
as it has been, despite being a Piggly Wiggly supermarket competitor. Unless the stores themselves decide not to renew their leases, all things will remain as they are. .....Piggly Wiggly Midwest made a similar purchase May 16, just two days before the Ruby Isle deal closed. According to The Produce News, the company bought three Joe Caputo and Sons grocery stores for $32 million in light of the Caputo and Sons’ financial issues. These stores are located in Illinois. Still, just like in Brookfield, Piggly Wiggly Midwest and PJR plan to keep all stores running, showing how the family-friendly grocery chain may be beginning to expand in a new way. .....Regardless of the drastic change, Ruby Isle experienced a seemingly smooth transition in owners. EMMA FAVILL
DIXON’S NUTCRACKER PG. 5
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