The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Spring musical season March-es in
March musicals are roaring in like a lion!
This is peak musical season for the next two months in our area. Catch one of these Lake and Geauga county productions and support our young thespians:
Geauga Lyric Theater Guild
And now for something completely different.
As if the prolific folks at Geauga Lyric Theater Guild in Chardon needed more to stage, director Angela Miloro-Hansen has developed a Repertory Company this school year of 16 auditioned students, ages 12 to 18. They are performing or working behind the scenes on six different shows throughout this school year, including “Little Women,” “Gathering Blue,” and “Amelia Earhart.”
Now they are ready to unveil their fourth production, “The Triangle Factory Fire Project.” It will be performed two nights only — March 6 and 7 — at 7:30 p.m. at their theater on Chardon Square.
Tickets are $5 at the door. Check www.geaugatheater.org for more information.
“The idea was to pick six very different shows to allow the same actors the chance to explore and play equally different types of roles,” Miloro-Hansen says of her innovation. “In one year, they will have gone from Civil War era, to post-apocalyptic future, to the 1930s, to women’s suffrage in 1911, to Nazioccupied Europe, to a fantasy land with dragons. Creating these different worlds back-toback and seeing the same actors learn how to quickly change approaches to characters has been so interesting and rewarding. And it doesn’t hurt that they are also learning all the intricacies of backstage and production team work.”
The current production tells the true story of the Triangle Shirtwaist Company in Manhattan.
“In 1909,” Miloro-Hansen says, “thousands of garment district employees — mostly immigrant women, who were working for very little — began to protest the 80-hour work week, minuscule pay, and unfair treatment by their employers. It was a common practice to lock the employees in so they wouldn’t waste company time with unauthorized bathroom breaks. The uprising of the 20,000 was born and International Ladies Garment Workers Union grew. The garment district employers hired thugs and prostitutes to harass and beat these women, and the police turned the other cheek.”
In 1911, a fire erupted in this locked-down building that trapped and killed 146 employees.
“One fire escape exit was blocked with fire,” Miloro-Hansen says of the site she recently visited. “The other fire escape collapsed under the heat of the fire, and only saved about twenty people. The final exit was locked. Over 50 girls jumped to their death from the ninth floor. Fire hoses and ladders were only able to reach the sixth floor.”
The entire disaster lasted 30 minutes. The ensuing trial of the factory owners resulted in the acquittal of the two owners of the factory, Max Harris and Issac Blank, one of the first to escape the factory from the roof. The legacy of the disaster is today’s fire safety standards, sprinkler systems, and safer working conditions.
“One of the more interesting things I’ve done with this show is ask the cast what cause they would be willing to stand up for, the same way the ILGWU women did,” Miloro-Hansen says. “We then made our own ‘protest’ signs and have been posting them on social media. Causes range from gender equality to gun control to animal rights and more.”
You can see their causes on the Geauga Lyric Theater Guild Facebook page or on Instagram @angelafbmhtheater. The cast also created 146 strips of fabric with the names of each Triangle victim painted on them, which will be part of the set in Act 2.
“Raising awareness about the horror and disaster that was the Triangle Factory fire is very important,” says Kat Magalski, a 16-year-old Repertory member. “Many people don’t know it existed at all, let alone its significance. This factory fire led to so many new laws and regulations, but the fact that 146 people had to die horrifically for these to be enacted is what truly needs attention. It represents how, in our country, even through the many strikers or protestors — in the Triangle Shirtwaist Company’s case, ILGWU went on strike against unfair conditions — it takes a devastating event to finally bring change. This shouldn’t be the case. We should listen when people stand up and speak their mind, and not wait for 146 people to die before we finally do something.”
“Being in the Repertory Company as a senior in high school has been a treasured experience,” says 17-year-old Lauren Koleszar. “I’ve strengthened relationships and made new invaluable ones with equally passionate people who I get to rehearse and laugh with every week. ‘Triangle’ is especially close to my heart because it represents so much for all of us, and this has been the show we’ve all been looking forward to performing. I’m incredibly blessed to have the privilege of telling the story with such talented and genuine people.”
Riverside High School
The East High Wildcats will be in Beaver Country when “Disney’s High School Musical” comes to the DW Shaner Auditorium this weekend. Show times are 5 p.m. March 1, 7:30 p.m. March 2, and 2 and 7:30 p.m. March 3. This year, tickets can be purchased online at rivtheatre.booktix.com with an option for reserved seating in the front center section. Check their website for more information.
This musical is a celebration of differences and how to break the status quo to do what you love, and that theme has won over director Laura Poje.
“‘High School Musical’ is a favorite of most students and has quickly become one of mine,” Poje says. “The message that we can do what we love and love what we do without judgment is an important lesson in today’s society. Students need to hear the message of taking a risk and breaking the stereotypes of their lives.”
This year is a special year for Riverside Theatre as it marks 20 years of the Poje & Palermo partnership. Highlights from those decades include an allalumni cast of “Into the Woods” to celebrate 10 years, having their own children on stage, and having alumni return as staff.
Additionally, Laura Poje is excited that her son, Ryan, is in the cast this year as Jack Scott. This is Ryan’s second production for Riverside Theatre as he was Gavroche in “Les Miserables” in 2011.
“It has been a memorable journey working with Laura,” Tammy Palermo says. “My passion for musical theater has really grown over the years, just ask my children who have to listen to ‘On Broadway’ whenever they are in my car. I’ve also thoroughly enjoyed watching our alumni take their love of theater into their careers.”
Congratulations to the law firm of Poje & Palermo — and break a leg, Beavers/Wildcats!
Notre Dame Cathedral Latin
Notre Dame Cathedral Latin High School in Chardon is ready to present the 1999 Tony Awardwinning version of “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown” on their Sam J. Frankino Stage in the Pat and Janet O’Brien Center for the Performing Arts as their annual spring musical this weekend.
Performances are 6 p.m. March 1, 7 p.m. March 2 and 3, and 3 p.m. March 4. Tickets are $12 and are available online at www.ndcl.org. Online ticketing closes 48 hours prior to each individual performance, but remaining tickets for each performance will be available 30 minutes prior to showtime at the box office.
In this revised version of the popular 1967 musical based on the Charles Schulz comic strip, Charlie Brown joins Sally, Linus, Lucy, Schroeder, and Snoopy in a revue of vignettes and songs, including “My Blanket and Me,” “The Baseball Game,” “Little Known Facts,” “Suppertime,” and “Happiness.”
The production features sophomore Daniel Fogarty in the title role, senior Elena Dahlhausen as Lucy, sophomore Caitlin Spicer as Sally, senior Zachary Smith as Snoopy, and juniors Thaddeus Brennan as Schroeder and Carter Callender as Linus.
Performing Arts Department Chairperson Shirley Ivancic Stall directs the production.
“This is a show for people of all ages to enjoy,” Ivancic Stall tells me. “Bring the young ones. I have enjoyed directing my students to be adorable young children and bring a day in the life of Charlie Brown to the stage.”
Assisting Ivancic Stall are music teacher Adam Pysell (NDCL class of 2005) as musical director and science teacher Melissa Parey as production and props manager. Rosie Gellott and Rebecca Simna choreograph the show, and Arthur Amantea manages sound, and R. Eric Simna designed the set and lighting for the production.
Fine Arts Association
The Fine Arts Association in Willoughby finishes performances of their annual youth production this weekend.
This year it is “Winnie-thePooh, and you can catch performances at 7:30 p.m. March 2, and 2 p.m. March 3 and 4. The March 4 performance is a special sign-interpreted performance.
Tickets are reserved seating and are $17 for adults, $15 for seniors and students 11 years and up, and $10 for children 10 years and under. This production is rated “G” and is family friendly.
Young Thespians is a regular column that focuses on youth in theater. Do you have a production you wish to see featured? E-mail stevecouch@ windstream.net, follow me @ StevenRCouch on Twitter or join our “Young Thespians” Facebook group and post your show information.