Members of the Bedford Schools’ Performing Arts Department pitched the upcoming high school fall musical at last week’s School Committee meeting.
The Drowsy Chaperone is scheduled for the stage in Bedford High School’s Buckley Auditorium on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m. The 90-minute, one-act production also will be available on live stream.
Nicole O’Toole, department chair, and Katrina Faulstich, theater director and director of the musical, were introduced on the Zoom format by School Superintendent Philip Conrad.
“The department is ecstatic to return to live performances,” O’Toole asserted. “It’s great to be back on the stage and making music.” Faulstich, speaking from the set in the auditorium, seconded that endorsement, adding, “It would mean a lot to have a really good audience at all four shows.”
She noted that this is the 60th year of musicals at BHS. Recent history has been unusual: performances of Legally Blonde were canceled in March 2020 as the pandemic arrived almost simultaneously with showtime, and last spring’s production of Les Misérables was filmed and presented via streaming.
Faulstich said there are 50 students involved with The Drowsy Chaperone as actresses and actors, musicians, and crew members.
Five members of the cast were also guests on the Zoom screen during the presentation to the School Committee. Mary Couvee told members, “It has been therapeutic in a way to reconnect with people. It has been rewarding to work on a show again—and it’s a really uplifting show. That’s kind of what we need with everything that’s going on in the world right now.”
Cate Galante added. “I feel totally at home when I am on the stage.” She spoke of the “strong bond as a cast. When you are on stage, you transform. It’s so much fun being back.”
Connor McClung, a junior, said this will be his first live musical at BHS. “There’s something about the audience that just makes it seem more real. You play off the audience; it’s a lot more fun.” Senior Ben Couvee added that the show is “a really good musical.”
The School Committee and attendees watched five video excerpts from a recent rehearsal, featuring choreography, music, and the full cast.
Tickets for the auditorium or livestream can be purchased through https://bhschorusandtheater.weebly.com/tickets.html.
Mike Rosenberg can be reached at [email protected], or 781-983-1763
A gallery of dress rehearsal images
Images in the gallery below were supplied by the BHS Performing Arts Department ~ Click each to see it at full size
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