Cast met demands of dance-heavy show

By Kyra Smith-Cullen ksmithcullen@daUyitem.com

When Lewisburg Area High School’s Director Sarah Tiede was planning this year's musical, she wanted to give her senior actors a new challenge.

“I really wanted them to experience a dance-heavy show,” she said, noting that the seniors had never done one during their tenure.

The entire cast worked hard to develop the skill for their production of classic musical “Guys and Dolls.”

The performance was praised for its choreography, led by Alfonso Parker Jr., and the level of professionalism the dancing created. Numbers featuring the group of characters called the Hot Box Dancers — “Bushel and a Peck” and “Take Back Your Mink” — were especially challenging but achieved a level of syncopation and harmony that was admirable.

“We had videos the kids could work with on their own and I know there were a lot of passes written for study halls where they met and worked on their dance moves. We had a dance boot camp to start off the season and worked on numbers throughout,” Tiede said. “I loved watching the progression of the learning process and the final product of sass and snap.”

Another thing Tiede considered when choosing the production was how it contrasted between last year’s show, the emotionally-packed and dramatic “Les Miserables.”

The change was a challenge for Jonah Carney, the senior who portrayed Sky Masterson.

“This year was a change of pace not only in the emotional response from the viewers, but also because we had to perform spoken lines this year rather than singing the entire production,” he said. Carney starred as Marius in “Les Miserables” last year and has been a part of several Lewisburg Area High School musicals.

As with many high school productions, part of the thrill of live performance for actors is the audience response.

“I loved hearing the laughs and interaction from the audience,” Carney said. “It was very exciting to feel the audience’s energy after many rehearsals of running the show for a mostly empty house.”

See GUYS, Page 7

Cast met demands of dance-heavy ‘Guys and Dolls’

GUYS, from Page 6

Carney and his co-stars Audrey Pennington, Naveen Ramsaran and Summer Evans helped lead the musical with their chemistry and vocal abilities, creating enjoyable moments for their audiences.

“My favorite moment during the live production was holding out pitches during ‘Sue Me’ with Naveen and hearing the audience’s response to that moment,” said Pennington, a senior who starred as Miss Adelaide.

With a cast of about 40 students, there were a lot of big numbers and moving parts happening both on and off stage. Though there may have been some hiccups during performances, students on the crew — including back stage manager Madeline Barbella — did their best to minimize the impact. Barbella, a senior, said the panic and problem solving during those moments made some of her favorite memories during the performances.

“I enjoyed everything I was doing but those moments made me feel like 1 really was part of something bigger,” she said.