Phantom of the
Musical
Freshman Emi Ludlow and senior Sachi Wrigley tune their instruments before the matinee show for the musical “Anastasia” on April 23.
SPOTLIGHTING THE PIT ORCHESTRA, WHOSE PERFORMANCE MADE THE MUSICAL MAGICAL
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By Melia Rasmussen
igures cloaked in black shuffled beneath the stage, setting up music stands and positioning their instruments just right so as to play them comfortably. Above, the auditorium came alive as members of the audience entered z Albany Performing Arts Center, debating on the best seat to watch the show that would begin shortly. Once seated, if they listened close enough, they would hear soft music as the student musicians warmed up out of sight. Some might have approached the stage and peeked into the opening at the front, seemingly talking to no one. But down in that hole were the phantoms under the auditorium, the ones who struck up their instruments to breathe life and wrap music around the vocalists who capture the eyes on stage. “The pit music is a linchpin of the whole musical,” co-band director Brian McFadden said. “It’s like when you’re watching a movie and if the music is written really, really well, you don’t notice it, but you feel the emotion that it’s trying to convey.” If the music is written or performed poorly, McFadden continued, then it’s more noticeable to the audience. One can argue, though, the more challenging something is, the more rewarding it is once pulled off. The musical “Anastasia” swept through the school, with a soft opening on April 15, soon followed by the official opening the next night. On April 20, the play was open only to students and staff, the auditorium filled with the cast’s classmates and teachers.
T H E W H I R LW I N D
“The most exciting part was when it all got put together and we played it successfully for the first time,” clarinet player junior Sophia Hanson said. “I’d come and be running on five hours of sleep [but] it’s really fun to be with everyone.” As her first year performing in a musical ensemble, Hanson much preferred the pit in person rather than audio through a speaker because it was easier to adapt to the vocalist on stage throughout. In previous years, the band members were stationed in their classroom behind the old cafeteria, where musicals were held. Band director Stuart Welsh would conduct from the front of the room, with the musicians peering at a singular T.V. screen mounted on the wall to broadcast the play. With this year’s musical, the band was equipped with new technology and a better sound system to amplify its performances in the new auditorium. They also had more opportunities to let loose and decorate their space, experimenting with several themed dress-up days leading up to opening night. “[Spirit Week] is a common thing that pits do and [senior] Sachi [Wrigley] really set that up for us,” McFadden said. On the first night of rehearsals, band students hung origami pineapples from the ceilings, added mini umbrellas
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to cups, and wore swim trunks and Hawaiian shirts. McFadden himself dressed as a lifeguard, fitting for his position in a tall chair at the front of the pit. The second day was monochromatic, and they wrapped the week up with pajama day, with pineapples and stuffed animals hanging around between performances. Another thing students could’ve noticed during the post-show celebrations was an added splash of color to a musician’s solid black uniform: something purple. Some wore bracelets or headbands or a sparkly purple bow tie. According to Hanson and McFadden, purple was the theme of the play because it appeared on the Broadway
Hired violin player Rosanne Smith practices part of a song with the rest of the orchestra on April 23. Smith was one of the four adults in the pit who weren’t selected students from the school.
