The Millstone Times April 2021

THE SHOW MUST GO ON By Pam Teel

Nothing can stop Eagle Productions - even in a pandemic! Millstone Middle School's Eagle Productions has been working since December on a Broadway Revue they call "MAKING MAGIC." There are 37 students involved in the production, which includes 17 songs, dances, and scenes from 12 different Broadway shows! “All songs help spread a message of hope, encouragement, and better days ahead,” stated Lisamarie Cappuzzo, who directs the production, “Making Magic.” Along with Lisamarie is Musical Director, Heather Philhower, and Choreographer, Emily Brown. The production is Stage Managed by 8th grader Hamilton Appel. The directing team began selecting songs in December, and focused on songs that would inspire the middle school students to keep their dream alive, even in these challenging times. Song selections include “Good Morning, Good Morn- ing” from Singin’ in the Rain, “You Can’t Stop the Beat” from Hairspray, “Ease on Down the Road” and “Brand New Day” fromThe Wiz, “Step in Time” from Mary Poppins, “Morning Glow” from Pippin, and the title song from Footloose, which will feature members of the staff performing with the 8th graders. The production also includes solos and duets, such as “Grow for Me” (performed by 8th grader Ethan Bailey) and “SomewhereThat’s Green” (performed by 8th grader Mary Januszka) from Little Shop of Horrors, “I Have Confidence” (performed by 8th grader Anna DePinho) from The Sound of Music, and “Home” (performed by 8th grader Kasia Han- ulewicz) from The Wiz. Other solo performers include 8th graders Scott Cairns, Lili Relvas, Julia Lazen, Nyla Morton, Bella Creighton, Rhema Daniel, 7th graders Ethan Cairns, Brendan DeRose and Greta Vitug, and 6th graders Savannah Lukaric and Ella Nipoti. Featured performers include 8th graders Chloe Vincent, Arya Patel, and Trinity Ryan, 7th graders Layla Greenleaf, Soukeynatou Diouf, and Gargi Patel, and 6th graders Amanda Shearer and Kayleigh Meagher. The students practiced their dance moves, scenes, and singing their songs on zoom since December. It was challenging not being able to be there all together in person but many found the experience to be fun. Eighth grader, Anna De Pinho noted that it wasn’t exactly the same quality of a connection as it would have been in person with her friends and her amazing teachers, but it didn’t make it any less enjoyable practicing with zoom. Before the quarantine, she had no idea what zoom was, but now it’s second nature to her. She stated that it was definitely a little harder to practice using zoom than practicing in person, especially trying to learn the cho- reography, but she managed, stating that Mrs. Brown makes everything easy and fun. Anna feels the show is going to be great! Kasia Hanulewicz agreed about the choreography being a little tough to learn through zoom. She was afraid she couldn’t see all the dance steps, but her teacher was extremely helpful and patient. She stated that it definite- ly was a new experience for her because rather than focusing on one musical, they had to learn different songs and scenes from different plays, yet at the same time it was a lot of fun to do a variety of different songs. She and her friends were all smiling, singing, and dancing and even though all the practices were on zoom, they had a fun time together. Lili Relvas remarked that, yes, practicing through zoom was definitely harder than being there in person but it

Singing "I Have Confidence" is Anna De Pinho

Singing "Anything You Can Do" is Lili Relvas

still was a lot of fun to do. The hardest part of all was trying to learn a dance because the screen is mirrored and the teacher did the opposite of what you were doing. She and the others had a lot of laughs trying to learn the dance moves but they prevailed. She also pointed out the fact that they all felt lucky that they got to put on a play this year even if all the practices were done in their own homes. It also felt great to be socializing on zoom with the rest of her cast and rehearsing together. She knows that it will be a great production! Eighth grader Nyla Morton is another one who never used zoom before the quarantine. She found this to be a great experience. She learned a lot of new tricks. She got a lot of laughs trying to learn the new dance moves at her house, especially when people came in and saw what she was doing. She said it looked a little weird to them and she had some of her family even trying to photo bomb her in the background when she was practicing. She didn’t feel depressed not being with her friends in person because she still got to talk to all of them. She noted that there were a lot of small issues that came up with zoom but they all soon learned how to trouble shoot. She loved the idea that they were doing different scenes from different plays. She knows that people will enjoy the show! After the final practice on zoom, the entourage headed to a final practice in person so they could present the best show possible for their audience. A lot of hard work went into this production being that they couldn’t all be together, but the students adapted quickly to it. They embraced this new experience and learned a lot from it. “We are proud to be part of keeping the magic of Broadway alive and can't wait to share some positivity with the community through a streamed per- formance on May 7,” stated Ms. Cappuzzo. The performance will be pre-recorded on the MPAC stage, and then edited by Artistic Expressions, then streamed to ticket holders on May 7 at 7pm. Tickets will be available on mpac.thundertix.com beginning on April 23. Tickets are $10 per individual or $25 per household.

22 The Millstone Times

April 2021