The Inside Press

Magazines serving the communities of Northern Westchester

Senior Musical

  “Grease is the word” at Horace Greeley High School!

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 Lead cast overlooking the HGHS competition field.  Photo by Carolyn Simpson

This June one of Chappaqua’s most anticipated annual events returns in a new and exciting way. For more than 75 years the Horace Greeley High School Senior class has produced a stage performance that engages the Senior class as actors, student producers, stage managers, musicians, set builders and sound and light technicians, and raises funds for college scholarships.

Each year more than 200 seniors, some with acting experience but most without, pick a popular Broadway show and practice in anticipation of a few shows over a weekend of bonding with their class as part of the end of year activities.

The first Senior Musical in 1946 provided the seed funding for an Education Fund to support college scholarships for Horace Greeley graduates. In 2003 the Education Fund was renamed The Horace Greeley Scholarship Fund and it continued to raise money for need based college scholarships.  

This year’s live presentation of Grease will be like no other because Covid precautions have pushed the show outdoors to the Greeley competition field for the first time in Senior Musical history, and where the stage and seating capacity is larger than ever under the starry night.

The seniors will perform a “family appropriate” version of the classic movie and stage show. It features the irresistible songs from the Tony Award nominated Broadway show and hit movie, including “Grease is the Word”, “Summer Nights”, “Hopelessly Devoted to You”, “Greased Lightening” and many more. 

The Greeley seniors are working hard and are excited to bring the community back together for live performances after a long two-year absence. Together with the Horace Greeley High School PTA, headed up by Chair, Rita Santelia and Vice-Chair, Nishat Hydari, and parent producers, Christie Krase, Stephanie Gold, Julie Weiser and Ilene Benjamin, and the many parent volunteers from the Chappaqua community working behind the scenes, are all ready to bring to life the story of Sandy, Danny and their Pink Lady and T-Bird sidekicks.

Director Kevin Kearins of KJK Productions, Music Director Ricky Romano and Choreographer Jesse Pellegrino will work with the Senior class for 2 months to bring out their best performances. 

Director, Kevin Kearins is so excited to work on this extraordinary live event. “We have a large group of talented students and the musical lends itself to that.”

Every year the cost of college increases and the needs of Greeley graduates exceed the available funding. The Senior Musical is one fund raising event that helps close the gap so the opportunity for a much higher attendance than a typical indoor show can increase the funds available for worthy students.

Director Kearins says, “Grease has always been around, and the songs have always permeated our society and culture.” “It will bridge generational gaps, and everyone can enjoy it.”

Shows are scheduled for 7:00 on Thursday June 2nd, Friday June 3rd and Saturday June 4th with a rain date of Sunday June 5th at 3:00. For ticket information please go to chappaquaschools.org or https://secure.sellingticket.com/design22/clients/list/index_byUserListAll.aspx?OrganizationID=151

Dust off those leather jackets and bobby socks and “Come together” on these “Endless summer nights”. Be there or be square!

 

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

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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

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

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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!”