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WEEK of NOVEMBER 24, 2003 |
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Ease On Down to BFS THE WIZ “Can I get the monkeys onstage? Monkeys!” Director-choreographer and drama teacher Amanda Selwyn stood on a bench in the third-row of the Pearl Street Meeting House and called the rehearsal to order. Meanwhile onstage, musical director and drama teacher Neil Ginsburg sat at the keyboard rehearsing an original “monkey chant” with 10th grader Julianna Cohen-Congress, as band mates Middle School English teacher Tony Soll on guitar, and 9th grader Gus Pages on drums, took their places (9th grader Scott Gentile will also play keyboards). Near the back of the Meeting House three 8th grade boys clustered around lighting designer Mike Berelson and the high-tech light board, testing the spinning lights they mounted to the ceiling just for this show. The Middle School/Upper School production of The Wiz was nearing its final days of rehearsal. “I work backstage, keeping the peace, keeping everybody quiet,” explained 8th grader and assistant stage manager Ben Lynford. “I'm Jeremy’s muscle,” he said, nodding at fellow 8th grader and stage manager Jeremy Bloom. Then, at Berelson’s urging the boys scurried to the back, pliers in hand, to hoist a spotlight onto a light stand. Near the front row, 10th graders Valdine Henrius and Anginese Phillips sat waiting to be called onstage. “I think it’s fun,” said Henrius, who plays, among other roles, Addapearle, the good witch of the north. “Yeah, it’s fun,” agreed Phillips, who plays Kalidah. Henrius confided, though that, in all honesty, it was a challenge “having to play something that I’m not. Addapearle is really confident, but I’m not as confident as she is, so it can be difficult.” However, “I love working with the people,” she added, nodding to the groups of kids hard at work throughout the room. She said she’s happy to have made so many new friends over the past six weeks, especially students from the Middle School. The Wiz, based on The Wizard of Oz, premiered on Broadway in 1975 as a “super soul musical” with lyrics by Charlie Smalls and music by William F. Brown. It was, as Ginsberg points out, one of the first Broadway shows to have an entirely African-American cast. The film version was released in 1978. “The Wiz has a large cast, fun roles that can be cast with great flexibility,” says Ginsberg about why the musical was chosen for production at BFS. “It also has a rockin’ score that is fun to sing. I think a few decades later the music seems more like gospel than soul,” he explains. “Genres and categories change with time, and perceptions about what is soul, rock, or pop are different depending on who you ask. The bottom line for us is that The Wiz is full of great-sounding music that helps reveal character and tell the story. It’s classic. The material is so rich. There are endless possibilities.” Ginsberg is thrilled with the teamwork, effort, and talent this large group of students has shown over the past weeks. “They are, in a word, extraordinary,” says Ginsberg of the cast and crew. “Wish we could take it on the road!” The cast includes: Halimat Alli-Balogun, Hannah Bary, Jacob Bloomfield, Courtni Clarke, Julianna Cohen-Congress, Lauren Hamernick, Valdine Henrius, Alex Llaurado, Marc Lombardo, Kazarae Lowe, Ayahna Nubian, Louise Marie O'Donnell, Olive Panter, Anginese Phillips, Di Romero, Gedalia Ross, Camilla Rothenberg, Emma Skove-Epps, Paul Silverman, Raina Sutton, Emma Thomas, and Kimberly Tronolone. |
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