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The musical "Something Rotten" successfully came together despite an uncertain postponment By: Kendall sloan

During the musical number, "Musical," junior Georgia Hutton (center) dances along with the other cast members.

The lights illuminating the audience began to flicker and dim, signaling the start of the show. Drama teacher and director Dan Lafferty strolled across the stage, thanking sponsors, contributors and audience members, warning them not to throw tomatoes at the actors, even with the Shakespearian theme of the musical.

The months of hard work of Loy Norrix cast and crew finally paid off Friday, Feb. 4, as the curtains at Kasdorf auditorium began to unfold and the opening night of “Something Rotten” commenced.

The musical ran for two weekends, bringing more and more crowds as the reviews came in.

Cast members dance across the stage in the opening act and sing along to "Welcome To The Renaissance." From left to right is freshman Fiona Braun, sophomore Ruby Berg, senior Emily Gallardo, freshman Catie Frink, and junior Sequoya Morning.

The cast and crew faced the typical trials and tribulations that come with putting on a theater production.

Senior Libby McFarlen worked as a spotlight operator in the musical.

“My role specifically is a follow spot,” McFarlen said. “So whenever the stage managers want a spotlight on a certain cast member on stage, I kind of make sure the audience sees them [the cast].”

Backstage, Amelia Wood fixes her costume in preparation for the next scene.

The team also faced some fortuitous obstacles. The opening night of “Something Rotten” was originally scheduled for Jan. 21. An administrative decision however, limited the number of spectators at after school events during the month of January due to an uptick in COVID-19 cases. The musical was postponed and eventually rescheduled for Feb. 4, but the cast and crew had to adapt to a period of uncertainty for a time.

Sophomore Ellen Terezino, who played Bea in the musical, described how the postponement affected her.

“It was sad for me,” Terzino said. “I had made so many close relationships, it was hard for me to take a break for two weeks.”

Drama teacher and musical director, Dan Lafferty, explained the process of carrying out a successful postponement.

“Postponing is extremely difficult,” Lafferty continued, “Because everyone who agreed to be a part of the show, agreed to specific dates and so we had to make sure the postponing dates were available for everyone.”

Backstage illuminated by the stage lights nearby, various objects for the set on stage lay in waiting.

Even with this postponement, cast members were happy with both their individual performances and the end result.

Sophomore Braeden Davis, who played Shakespeare, was pleased with his performance.

“I thought it went really well,” Davis said. “I think the audience loved it and I loved being on-stage and just showing off for the audience.”

Cast members bop along to the musician support of fellow cast members and wait for their turn on stage.
Shakespeare makes his first entrance on-stage as cast members excitedly watch. On the left is junior Kameron Long and on the right is sophomore Braeden Davis.

Freshman Fiona Braun was happy with the final product as well.

"I really enjoyed the musical,” Braun said. “I was skeptical at first just because I’ve never done a musical or anything in the past.”

Aiden Beebe, who played Nick Bottom, in his musical number, "Bottom's Gonna Be On Top."

Senior Hailey Yoder, who went to see the musical, gushes over the performance.

“It was really good,” Yoder said, “I actually went to see it twice because I really liked it.”