Broadway Review: Phantom of the Opera

A few weeks ago, a friend (Sophie Katz) and I went to go see Phantom of the Opera at the Majestic Theatre in New York City! Far beneath the great Paris Opera House, lives the Phantom (Hugh Panaro) in a dark existence. Ashamed by his appearance and feared by all in the opera house, the love that he has for Christine Daae (Marni Raab) is extremely strong and cannot go unnoticed. He does whatever he needs to do to win Christine's heart. This has to be one of the greatest shows I have ever seen. The music is perfect and the acting was flawless!
"Even though this was my fourth time seeing the performance of Phantom of the Opera, the chandelier crashing down still surprises me and is my favorite part!" says Sophie Katz, senior at Norwalk High School. This is definitely a must-see!!!

-Shelby Vetare, 17, Norwalk High School

New England Ballet's 21st Annual Production of "The Nutcracker"

Throughout the winter season, I have had the honor to play the roles of The Sugar Plum Fairy and the Russian Princess in my ballet company's annual performances of the "The Nutcracker". In addition to having 5 public performances at the Parsons Auditorium and Klein Memorial Theatre, we also had the opportunity to be on tour, performing smaller versions of the show at various schools and events all throughout the month of December. It was a unique opportunity to be able to dance in so many different places, and it was especially fun to miss some days of school to perform!

This year was a special year for me because the Sugar Plum Fairy is technically the lead role of the entire ballet. You get 17 minutes straight of stage time, which equals long rehearsals in the studio and extra attention from the choreographers and directors. The man I danced with (shown in the picture below), was Jonathan Mendez, and he is a professional ballet dancer from Columbia! It was really exciting to dance with a professional, and I tried to learn everything that I could from our time together. The whole cast in general got along great this year, with very little back-stage drama. It was a younger cast, as many of our older dancers went off to college last year, and it was a beautiful thing to see all of my friends grow and learn over the course of the season. "Nutcracker" is definitely the highlight of our winter, and the extensive hours spent in the studio every week are a great way for us to foster our dancing and form great friendships. I will never forget what a wonderful year this has been and what a great show we all put on!

Don't miss New England Ballet Company's upcoming spring season! Go to www.newenglandballet.org to learn about our upcoming events, have us come perform at your school or event, and order tickets! You can also like our page on Facebook!

- Shaina Arsenault, 15 years old
Joseph A. Foran High School

Thoroughly Modern Millie: Inside out

     This past weekend, I had the opportunity to participate in Lighthouse Youth Theatre's production of Thoroughly Modern Millie at Yorktown Stage, as Rita (Priscilla Girl) and a Stenographer. This was my first time performing with this theatre and I feel as if it was a great learning experience. The director John Fanelli and choreographer Jesse Pellegrino had high expectations and they really produced a great show. Unfortunately, I was sick with the flu during tech week and was unable to make any of the rehearsals. John and Jesse were so understanding and helped me catch up on everything I missed. Luckily, I was healthy for the show and able to perform.
     "In the fast-paced 1920s, a girl from Kansas moves to New York City to marry a rich man.  She samples the "thoroughly modern" flapper life, makes friends, finds unexpected romance and nearly gets caught up in a white slavery ring in this stage version of the 1967 film musical" (playbillvault.com).
     High school student Skylar says, "The story line was difficult to follow but the quality of the performers was amazing." Adult audience member Lynnette says, "The costumes and the dancing was very true to the 1920's setting."
     Lighthouse Youth Theatre's motto is "Changing lives one show at a time." Working with these choreographers, directors, and fellow cast mates was life changing. I made many new friends and I plan on having many other LYT productions in my future.
-Shay LaRusso
 15
 Norwalk High School

Masterclass - Robin DeJesus

This afternoon, I had the incredible opportunity to work with two-time Tony nominee Robin de Jesus. He has performed on Broadway as Sonny in In the Heights, Angel in Rent and Jacob in La Cage aux Folles. I never would have expected him to come to Stamford High School to hold an audition workshop, and work one-on-one with us on our perspective audition songs for Guys and Dolls. He was the most enthusiastic and  one of the nicest people I have ever met. I'll admit, I was extremely nervous to sing my 32-bar cut of "Lonely Town" from On The Town in front of someone like him. But he was so excited to work with me, and gave me the simplest and most effective feedback. I applied his feedback the second time I sang the song, and I immediately could tell the difference. It was such an incredible experience, and I am unbelievably grateful for his time. Thank you, Robin!

-Matt, 16
Stamford High School

Broadway Review: Evita

The truth is she never left you. The Broadway revival of one of Andrew Llyod Webber's memorable musicals returned to Broadway in 2012. On January 26th, it will close it's doors. I can recall hearing an audience member behind me claim that this show was one of Broadway's best shows. I would have to agree. Audience member Natalie said, "I wasn't a huge Evita fan, but now I can't get the music out of my head. They did a fantastic job with the show." Evita closes at the end of January, so if you can catch it, do it. It is a masterpiece: from the realistic sets to the spot on choreography to the amazing cast, I am shocked it didn't win Best Revival at the Tony Awards. The cast is led by: Elena Roger as Eva Peron, Ricky Martin as Che and Michael Cerveris as Juan Peron.

~Nathan Clift, 15 years old, Trumbull High School

 

Evita Review (couldnt post video directly for some reason...)

Broadway Review: Bring It On

Broadway Review: Bring It On

On Sunday, December 30th, I took a trip with some family to the heart of New York City to see what I saw  as one of the greatest modern musicals ever made. Bring It On, a rather new musical tells the tale of a high school cheerleading squad and how their captain is forced to transfer schools and compete against her own team. when asked about her experience at the show, a fellow audience member Alyssa Weisberger, 16, said "I thought it was put together very well and the skill involved with the show was outstanding. As a fellow cheerleader, I loved it!!" My personal favorite was the part in which a rather small girl was projected into the air about 50 feet above our heads and was caught by two young men who simply eased her to the floor into a roll. The precision and accuracy in this show was absolutely astonishing. Considering me being in my teenage years, I believe the aspect of the show that really jumped out at me was how upbeat and exciting the energy coming from the cast was. There was also the concert-like aspect from all the bright stage lights being shown out into the audience. The show has obviously proven itself Broadway material as it takes its tour around the globe as of January 3rd and will be returning to Broadway stages this coming August. Don't miss it!!
-Kevin Durkee, 15, Amity High School

Broadway Review: Once

On Saturday, December 29th, my friend Aidan and I trekked into NYC to see Once on Broadway at the Bernard Jacobs Theater. Even in mezzanine seats, we could easily see the permanent set, portraying a small bar in Ireland. The story follow a young Irishman who is about to give up on music (and maybe his life), when a young Czech woman stops him. She asks him to fix her "Hoover" (vacuum), and offers to pay him with musical talents of her own. He begins to reconnect to his music, and love, through her. The show was fantastically performed, and I was impressed to find out that the cast accompanied the entire show, each member playing with as much prowess as the first. Once may have been the best Broadway show I have seen, and is definitely worth the 7 awards it received for Best Musical!
-Matt S.