TADA! It’s Charlie Brown!

“You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown,” was both the name of this season’s annual TADA show and the opening number to this charming musical. Throughout the show, which ran for two weekends last month, Charlie Brown and his friends encountered some everyday struggles, but in the end, Charlie Brown was still a good man.

Starring Mr. Buell as Charlie Brown, Ms. Markel as Sally Brown, Ms. Rahmig as Lucy, Mr. Wang as Linus, former Pres teacher Mr. Cozort as Snoopy, and other Pres parents and alumni, this show clearly featured a star studded cast.

Mr. Buell performed an animated Charlie Brown who had a crush on a red-headed girl at school, but was too nervous to talk to her. This is only one of the problems Charlie Brown encountered. Mr. Buell portrayed the character as an average kid who just wants to fit in. The audience found themselves both rooting for Charlie Brown to succeed and feeling sorry for his failures. Buell relayed a very relatable character that both children and adult audience members could associate themselves with.

Ms. Markel brought consistent energy to the stage performing the character of Sally. Her high pitched voice, bright pink dress and enthusiasm perfectly translated to the classic Sally character we all know and love.

An audience favorite was a song titled “My Blanket and Me,” performed by Mr. Wang as Linus. In this number, Linus explained how his blanket was his best friend, even dancing with it as if it were a person. It was both humorous and exciting when four walking blankets entered the stage and danced throughout the number with Linus.

Although we are used to seeing Ms. Rahmig around campus as a blond, she easily pulled off the black wig necessary for playing Lucy. Rahmig was both classic and sassy, hitting the high notes with impressive ease.

Mr. Cozort didn’t need face-painted spots or headband ears to be recognized as the lovable dog Snoopy. Cozort was exactly in character as he ran around the stage chasing rabbits and howling on his dog house in anticipation for suppertime.

The sets were very convenient with no need for any set changes. A wonderful bright colored platform stayed on the stage throughout the entire show. Both Snoopy’s house and Schroeder’s piano were pulled right out of the block and used when needed. The set was simple, but perfect for portraying the simple lives of regular kids.

All the songs were very catchy and entertaining. Charlie Brown and his peers sure encountered some interesting scenarios during their quest for a happy childhood. Through it all, both the characters and the audience learn that, “happiness is anyone and anything at all, that’s loved by you.”

Stay tuned for the next TADA! production that will run from April 20-29. Alumna Kathy Gutto will be directing “Rodgers and Hart: A Celebration,” which is a collection of songs from the forties. As always, it will feature talented teachers, alumnae, parents and friends of Pres, so don’t miss out!

Little Shop of Horrors

While you are busy enjoying all the holiday food and your new presents this Christmas break, you can also get excited for the upcoming TADA show that promises to be a big hit. With the successful musical Little Women ending its run, the Presentation Performing Arts department now moves on to the much anticipated TADA show. This year they are branching out and doing a show with a bit of a different message than last year’s GodSpell; many of your favorite parents and teachers will be performing  Little Shop of Horrors.

This fun musical tells the story of a man-eating-plant named Audrey 2. Unlike many Pres Theatre productions this show has a wacky plot line filled with fun songs, a love story and murder.

The plot of the show revolves around a boy named, Seymour, who works at a flower shop with a pretty girl named Audrey. The story begins when Seymour mysteriously obtains a strange plant that resembles a large Venus fly trap. Since Seymour is secretly in love with Audrey, he names the plant Audrey II.

When the strange plant starts to die, he turns to the obvious alternative, to feed it human blood. This interesting choice of nourishment somehow enables the plant to speak, and this spurs the crazy antics throughout the rest of the plot. To sum up the show, religion teacher Mr. Buell said that his impression of the show is,  “Goofy, but with great music.”

This odd blend of comedy, music, and alien plants is a great show for anyone looking for some laughs; whoever thought that putting a story about homicide and a giant alien plant to music would go so well together? Although some have said Little Shop of Horrors is one of the weirdest musicals ever, it actually has a great blend of comedy, singing and suspense. With a stellar cast of teachers, parents, and TADA members, this show is sure to be a great one.

With a cast full of parents, alumni, TADA members and teachers, Little Shop of Horrors is bound to be an amazing show. Mr. Houle said, “Little Shop of Horrors has four very big things going for it:  the faculty performances of Mr. Buell, Mr. Wang, Ms Rahmig and Ms. Foley.” Mr. Buell and Mrs. Rahmig will both be returning to the stage come January. Mr. Buell will be playing Seymour while Mrs. Rahmig will be playing Ronette, a Skid Row Denizen, or woman who lives nearby and helps narrate through song. Mr. Wang and Ms. Foley will be making their debut; Mr. Wang as the Dentist, Orin Scrivello, and a chinese plant salesman and Ms. Foley as Chiffon, another Skid Row Denizen. This stellar cast also includes many Pres parents and members of TADA. Mr. Houle said, “Rehearsals are going great and the show is going to be very entertaining.  Last year’s production of Godspell sold out, so don’t wait to get your tickets at pres-net.com.” If this amazing cast doesn’t get you thrilled to see it, then nothing will.

In the words of Mr. Buell, “If you ever wanted to see Mr. Wang do an Elvis impression, or if giant-man-eating-plants are your thing, come see the show.” Another thing to look forward to, Mr. Buell kills a faculty member, for the second year in a row – come see the show starting in January to find out who it is.

Godspell Wows the Crowds

This past weekend, Pres students sat in the Valenzuela theater waiting for their teachers to do something they normally wouldn’t do in a classroom—dance, sing, and act.

And did they. Performing Godspell—which was originally produced in 1970 by Stephen Schwartz and John-Michael Tebelak—meant that our already-busy Pres teachers had to commit to weeks of rehearsals to learn songs, choreography and lots of lines. For some teachers, who had never appeared on stage before, simply learning the basics of how to enter and exit the stage were a challenge in themselves.

Mrs. Perryman, for example, “tried very hard not to fall.” But, she said, even if she were to fall and her costume malfunction, she knew that it wouldn’t trouble her. “I was doing this for the right reasons,” she said. “To raise funds for TADA and celebrate the Gospel—there would be no way to fail.”

The production, which ran for two weekends, served as a fundraiser for TADA, the booster group for Presentation’s theater program. According to Jim Houle, performing arts director, the performances raised approximately $15,100.

The musical is structured as a series of parables from the Bible, primarily the Books of Matthew and Luke. Mr. Cozort, who played Jesus Christ, said the challenge for him was how to symbolically portray Jesus since, “I’m not in a robe. I don’t have a beard.”

But he must have done his job well because people have been singing his praises ever since the show closed. “Mr. Cozort has jumped to the top of my ‘Most-amazing-people-I-know list,’” said Mr. Houle. “Of course, his talent was evident to all who witnessed his live performance, but the countless hours of work he did in preparation for the show went unnoticed by the audience, who only saw his confident, relaxed, seemingly effortless portrayal of Jesus.”

Ms. Hetherington, who was in the cast thought Mr. Cozort did a breathtaking performance as Jesus. “Every time we practiced it, I was touched anew—often to the point of tears. Mr. Cozort, I think, did an amazing job of conveying Jesus’ pain and anguish.”

Mr. Buell played John the Baptist and Judas. As Judas, Mr. Buell crucified Jesus, a scene that he called his favorite. He appeared onstage with a red bandana as if he were a motorcyclist. With a bag across his shoulders and an evil smirk across his face, he captured Mr. Cozort from behind. The boxes that were used as a stairway to the cross where Mr. Cozort was crucified symbolized Mt. Calvary and the Stations of the Cross in the Bible.

Dancing and singing with her colorful costume from the 1970s , Mrs. Perryman described her experience as “Amazing. It was exactly like the play. In Tower of Babel, we were all promoting our own idea of how the world should be, but then Jesus came and we all realized that if we didn’t work together, we couldn’t build anything worth having.”

Along with Mr. Buell from the religion department, Ms. Hetherington played a follower of Jesus in Godspell. “This was my first theater experience and it was absolutely marvelous.” Not only did Ms. Hetherington have a spectacular experience, but it helped her understand the Gospel as well. She said, “To listen to and act out this message night after night led me to a much deeper appreciation of what Christianity is all about.”

This play also marked the first time on stage for science teacher Mrs. Rahmig. “I don’t break out in song and dance during biology class very often!” she said. “I struggled to learn all of the dance moves in the songs, but by the time I finally got them down, I was having a great time performing them.” It did, indeed look like the cast was having a splendid time dancing and singing together.

The musical was embedded with inside Pres jokes, current day references and full-hearted acting by the actors and actresses. In one scene, Mr. Cozort and Mr. Buell voice the characters of Star Wars. In an interview after the play, Mr. Cozort admitted with a big smile on his face, that he thought Mr. Houle purposely put in that scene for him.

The choreography of this musical is both comical, yet genius. Of course it took practice to perfect. According to Mr. Buell, “We videotaped Sara [Freitas] doing the choreography and put it on YouTube. And at night, when everyone had left, I’d put it on my projector, move some desks out of the way and memorize the choreography.”

Right after the Star Wars scene, the theater turned into a disco. With an actual disco ball flashing, and teachers dancing, the “Light of the World” dance scene gave light to Jesus as the Savior. According to techie Jocelyn San Luis, junior, “You can’t help but dance to it!”

The teachers’ acting and chemistry onstage definitely had the Presentation-we’re-a-family aura. Ms. Hetherington said, “We came to the play as strangers—most of us—and left as members of a wonderful community.” Mr. Buell and Mr. Cozort brought their friendship backstage, too. San Luis noted their harmony as one of the most memorable moments she had backstage on the set of Godspell. She said, “Mr. Buell and Mr. Cozort’s beautiful offstage and onstage bromance….beautiful.”