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High School Theater

Horace Greeley High School Class of 2018 presents DISASTER: Save Yourself.

March 15, 2018 by Inside Press

Performances Thursday, March 22nd at 7 p.m., Friday, March 23rd at 8 p.m. and Saturday, March 24th at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.

The year is 1979 and the hippest floating discotheque and casino is about to open.  It’s not too late to get on board.  But be careful, because earthquakes, tidal waves and burning infernos await.  You might have to help save a reporter and her long-lost boyfriend, a nightclub singer and her young twins, a greedy businessman, a nun with a secret, a singer that’s hit the skids and a scientist that just might be able to rescue us all.  Plus, there’s romance, intrigue, sharks, rats and more than a hundred other guests on board.

This is “DISASTER” a hilarious homage to the 70’s complete with bell bottoms, feathered hair and the music of a generation.  You’ll be dancing in the aisles to classics like “Knock on Wood,” “I Will Survive,” “I Am Woman” and “Never Can Say Goodbye.”  Director Lee Kasper tells us “I love all of the music in Disaster! Moment to moment, each song is one that the audience will love to hear and will be excited to learn how it has been contextualized for the show.” 

Cast member Katie Katz tells us “We are all so excited to be a part of this and the audience will love to hear these classic songs delivered in a whole new way.”  Violet Gautreau portrays Jackie the nightclub singer and told us “She loves the opportunity to do something she loves with the entire class.”  And John Admunsen, who portrays Chad added “it’s great to part of this community and it has been a joy to spend time with the senior class throughout the rehearsal process.”

Cast member Ashleigh Wachtfogel said, “Disaster is fun and upbeat, and everyone will really get into the music, especially our parents.”  And nightclub owner Chase Sullivan says, “The show is crazy, unexpected entertainment.”  Get ready to bring back all those 70’s dance moves as well.  Choreographer Jesse Pellegrino tells us, “he loves the 70’s vibe and teaching the kids to embrace the style of dance, which was new to all of them, was a blast.”

Over 150 students are participating as cast members, crew, pit band, assistant directors, choreographers, make-up artists and costume designers. 

Since auditions the cast and crew of this show have had to deal with many real Disasters such as nor’easters, canceled rehearsals, no power, closed roads and St. Patrick’s Day.  But we survived.  Will you?

Don’t wait because tickets are going fast.

www.sellingticket.com/greeleyseniormusical

All Seats $20.

Thursday, March 22nd at 7 p.m.

Friday, March 23rd at 8 p.m.

Saturday, March 24th at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m.

Horace Greeley High School Auditorium

Filed Under: Gotta Have Arts Tagged With: 1970s, Class of 2018, Disaster, Disaster: Save Yourself, High School Theater, homage to the '70s, Horace Greeley High School, Senior Musical

Greeley Theater Company: Growing a New Generation of Thespians and Fans

April 24, 2017 by Stacey Pfeffer

The Horace Greeley Theater Company under the direction of Mr. Jonathan Gellert has had an incredible 2016-2017 season and shows no signs of slowing down. The musical Into the Woods kicked off the season this fall and this past month the students performed the play, The Laramie Project. The senior musical Grease performed the last week in March had a record breaking 200+ seniors participating in the show. In total, the theater program will put on a total of six productions for the school year!

Gellert admits that it is “an ambitious high school program and I see no reason of changing that.” In the spring of 2018, he hopes to include a second musical–a children’s show geared to a younger audience to bring in the community and also gives students the opportunity to participate more.

“We want kids in the community to be really excited about Greeley theater,” said Gellert. He also hopes to offer some plays by Shakespeare and more mentoring to students who show promise as directors next season.

The Laramie Project, a play which addresses the brutal murder of openly gay teenager Matthew Shepard in the small town of Laramie, Wyoming, sparked national debate in the late 1990s. Gellert chose the show because it could “maximize student potential and growth. It provides many opportunities for student exploration of character and place. It is about the celebration of what makes us all human and what happens when an event causes us to reflect as a community, and personally of who we are and what we are. This is the very nature of all drama.”

The performance was sold-out and extremely well received by the audience. Grace Bennett, Publisher and Editor of the Inside Press, who attended, stated: “Bravo to the entire cast! Through powerful, passionate performances, anyone watching could see that the kids understood so many nuances of human behavior and were deeply empathetic to the heart wrenching subject matter.”

Violet Gautreau, a junior who played several roles in The Laramie Project enjoyed working with a smaller cast because it “allowed us to really forge bonds and make deeper emotional connections with each other, which came through onstage. I’ve never had such an emotional experience onstage before. It was incredibly rewarding to be in such an important show about human rights.”

Gellert’s goal of the theater program is to “offer a variety of productions and classes that serve all kids who want to explore and express themselves in theatre work during their times here at Greeley.

That includes both students who want to get on stage for the first time and feel more comfortable doing so, along with those who strongly desire an additional four years of pre-college or career training so that they can be competitive and continue to grow as they pursue the theater.”

Gellert also takes pride in offering stagecraft classes and opportunities for students who wish to work in set design and building. Jake O’Donovan, a junior who has worked on set design for several shows enjoys the fact that “Mr. Gellert gives myself and the crew a lot of independence on how we organize ourselves and work.”

The senior musical Grease funded by the Chappaqua PTA was directed by a former student of Gellert’s, Lee Kasper, who most recently served as an associate director for the Broadway revival of You Can’t Take it with You.The senior musical has been a yearly tradition at Greeley and proceeds from the show benefit the Horace Greeley Scholarship Fund.

Ilene Benjamin, an audience member at Grease, commented on Chappaqua Moms that “we do not have a senior in it, but we do have a strong sense of community spirit to keep the arts going in our schools. These students, all talented in their own right, worked very hard and the audience gave back the love with loud cheering and a standing ovation… Go ahead, the world is really your stage!”

Filed Under: Cover Stories Tagged With: Chappaqua PTA, Grease, Greeley Theater Company, High School Theater, Horace Greeley High School, Horace Greeley Theater, play, Plays, Senior Musical, The Laramie Project, Theatre, Thespians

Horace Greeley Production of “Grease” Set for March 30, 31, and April 1

March 17, 2017 by Inside Press

The Horace Greeley Senior Class (2017) is thrilled to present “Grease” on March 30, March 31 and April 1.  The Senior Musical, as it is known, is a wonderful senior only production.  Seniors commemorate their final year together in this hallowed Greeley community tradition, while proceeds of the show benefit the Horace Greeley Scholarship Fund.

Due to its popularity, the shows will sell out soon! 
 All seats – $20
Show dates: Thursday, March 30th at 7pm
Friday, March 31st at 8pm
Saturday, April 1st at 2pm and 8pm
To purchase tickets, click the link below.

Click here for Tickets

Filed Under: Happenings Tagged With: Grease, High School Theater, Horace Greeley High School

Horace Greeley High School Presents “The Laramie Project,” A Modern Classic

March 6, 2017 by Inside Press

Reserve your Tickets for the following performances: March 8th, 9th and 10th at 7 p.m. and March 11th at 8 p.m.

On October 7, 1998, a young gay man was discovered bound to a fence outside of Laramie, Wyoming, savagely beaten and left to die in an act of brutality and hate that shocked the nation. Matthew Shepherd’s death became a national symbol of intolerance, but for the people of the town, the event was deeply personal. In the aftermath, Moises Kaufman and members of the Tectonic Theater Project went to Laramie and conducted more than 200 interviews with its citizens. From transcripts, the playwrights constructed an extraordinary chronicle of life in the town after the murder. Since its premiere, The Laramie Project has become a modern classic and one of the most-performed theater pieces in America.

This docu-drama brings to light startling realities about the society we live in and causes audience members to question their own morals and beliefs and those of their fellow Americans.

Due to the subject matter, this production is not recommended for children under 13. ​  

Tickets:

http://greeleytheater.tix.com/Schedule.aspx?OrgNum=5064&framed=true 

Cast and Crew credits, below.

 

CAST & CREW

Cast:

Sarah Bogner: Allison Mears, Tiffany Edwards, E-mail
Writer, Conrad Miller, Jury Foreperson, Cal Rerucha, Shadow

Oliver Bradley: Jonas Slonaker, Matt Galloway, Newsperson, Russell Henderson

Fiona Dubrosa: Andy Paris, Baptist Mininster, Governer Jim Gerringer, Aaron McKinney, Reporter, April Silva

Jackson Gautreau: Doc O’Connor, Harry Woods,
Dr. Cantaway, Shannon

Violet Gautreau: Leigh Fondakowsk, Marge Murray,
Baptist Minister’s Wife, Matt Mickelson, Lucy Thomson, Newsperson

Tova Greene: Barbara Pitts, Romaine Paterson, Reporter

Sam Harasimowicz: Gil Engen, Jedidiah Schultz, Dennis Shepard, Doug Laws

Amanda McHugh: Catherine Connolly, Sherry Aanenson, Jen

Laurel Kastner: Amanda Gronich, Eileen Engen, Sherry Johnson, Rob Debree

David Katz: Greg Pierotti, Jon Peacock, Aaron Kreifels,
Bailiff

Jacob Kaufman-Shalett: Sargeant Hing, Stephen Belbr,
Father Roger Schmidt, Murdock Cooper

Samantha Phillips: Zackie Salmon, Moisés Kaufman,
Newsperson, Phil Labrie, Anonymous, Kerry Drake, Gene Pratt

Gillian Shenkman: Rebecca Hilliker, Zubaida Ula, Judge

Lindsay Shiner: Reggie Fluty, Trish Steger

Kaylee Sparro: Phillip Dubois, Priest at Funeral, Debbie, Bill McKinney, Jeffrey Lockwood

Izzy Thomasses: Stephen Mead Johnson. Kristen Price, Rulon Stacey, Andrew Gomez, Reverend Fred Phelps
 

Crew:

Student Producer/Technical Director/Sound Assistant JAKE O’DONOVAN
Stage Manager/Light board operator COLLIN DAMMANN
Projection  Assistant  GABE EHRLICH​
Camera Operator/ Program Designer VIVIAN ZYMECK
Costume Assistant ASHKA JHAVERI
Makeup KENNY NOHAVICKA

                     
Construction Crew:

MAX AUERBACHER
ASHKA JHAVERI
ISABELLA JOHNSTONE
BEN KAUFMAN-SHALETT
ASHKAY  KRISHNAN
HOJIN LEE
JAKE O’DONOVAN
ETHAN RICH
MOIRA SEMEL
LUKE SMITH
VIVIAN ZYMECK
 

 

Filed Under: Happenings Tagged With: Chappaqua, High School Theater, Horace Greeley High School, Inside Press, Laramie Project, New Castle

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