Having fun was at heart of musical

By Kyra Smith-Cullen ksmithcullen@dailyitem.com

Southern Columbia Area School District’s musical director Lexi Holtzman wanted her cast and crew to enjoy performing a musical above all else.

“I told the students day one that we are there to have fun, make memories and then make a musical production as well. But the most important thing is for them to have fun and enjoy the process,” she said.

According to The Daily Item’s reviewer Anna Wiest, their enjoyment was evident. Wiest noted how much several members of the cast really leaned into their roles, including Alasia Gaines, Saira Sodergen, Sarah Eyer, Josh Lahr, Bryce Turner and Owen Eyer.

The high school’s Encore program had a lot of newbies this year — including, in some ways, Holtzman herself, who was stepping into the role of a director for the first time. Her own greenness guided her decision for Southern Columbia’s students to perform

“Bye Bye Birdie” because she was so familiar with it.

“1 personally know the show very well, so with this being my first year as a director, I wanted to do a show f knew like the back of my hand,” Holtzman said.

She also felt the program had the students to play the parts incredibly well. And, according to Wiest, they did. In her review, Wiest noted how much several members of the cast really leaned into their roles, including Alasia Gaines, Saira Sodergen, Sarah Eyer, Josh Lahr, Bryce Turner and Owen Eyer.

“The students did their own research on their characters and really analyzed the script. They were allowed some spin on their characters here and there and they had a blast doing it,” Holtzman said.

She said she never had to worry about the students once because they were so wonderful to work with. They were dedicated to putting on the best show they could, vocally and physically.

See BIRDIE, Page 29