Attention upper school students: it is suggested you all come to school this Friday and Saturday. It’s understandable you all probably have parties to go to or you all want to hang out with your friends, but wouldn’t you want to support your classmates and see the fall musical instead? That’s right. This Friday and Saturday, November 16 and 17, you all can see the musical Gypsy directed by the talented Mark Gornto.
According to StageAgent, Gypsy is the story of becoming a star in the early 1920s. Rose, played by senior Emiko Borne, and her two children, Baby June and Louise, played by eighth grader Julia Giordano and freshman Skylar McClane, travel the vaudeville circuit, trying to acheive stardom for her two kids. However, when grown-up June, played by senior Brett Eiffes, runs off with her boyfriend Tulsa, played by senior and WordsWorth editor-in-chief Austin Harris, Rose turns her focus for fame to grown-up Louise, played by senior Larissa Morgan.
I was at rehearsal Tuesday night watching the performers go through another grueling and tiring night of rehearsal during tech week. As I sat down in the auditorium, Mr. Gornto was walking around, a clipboard in his hand and a pencil in his mouth, with a stern but calm expression on his face. Kelly Bixby, the first year music teacher here at Moorestown Friends School, was leading the cast in vocal warm-ups.
The cast stood on the stage and sung the words to “Mama Made Me Mash My M&M’s” in their elaborate costumes. The costumes weren’t short of sequins or color. The cast looked like something out of a child’s storybook about a carnival. “Places please. Have a great show guys. Have fun!” Gornto shouted to the cast as the lights dimmed and the rehearsal began. The projection screen lights up revealing senior Aseeli Coleman, junior Maureen Kelleher, and senior Rachel Weiss getting all dolled up. The projection screen and the use of technology wasn’t a surprise because there were talks of the use of technology in the show.
As the opening music starts, the house lights are still out and the projection screen rises. “Lights!” Gornto shouts from the middle section of the audience and the house lights turn on revealing the first members of the cast on stage for the first scene. The instrumentals cut out and the first lines are delivered.
The actors perform their lines clearly and with enthusiasm, as if it’s actually opening night. Eighth grader Julia Giordano plays Baby June. She sings the first song in the show, “May We Entertain You”. There is interaction between Rose, the band and the lighting booth. The second song of the play, “Some People”, begins and Emiko belts it out flawlessly, during which Gornto changes his location from the audience to the aisle. All of the vocals during the night sounded well rehearsed and smooth. The cast was fantastic and the sets were great.
So, upper school students, if you want to support your friends, come out to see Gypsy on November 16 and 17 at 7:00 in the evening. The rehearsal looked great, so the play is sure to be one of Moorestown Friends School’s best musicals yet.
