Displaying items by tag: Shrek the Musical

SARATOGA SPRINGS — The Saratoga Spring High School Drama Club will present Shrek the Musical on Thursday, March 12 at 7 p.m., Friday, March 13 at 7:30 p.m., and Saturday March 14 at 1 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. The performances will be held in the Loewenberg Auditorium at Saratoga Springs High School.

Based on the Oscar-winning animation film, Shrek the Musical is a Tony-award-winning fairytale adventure, featuring all the beloved characters you know from the film. Shrek is a musical joy children and adults will love.

Ticket prices are $15 for reserved seats, $12 for adult general seating, and $7 for students and senior general seating. Seats are available online starting March 1 at brownpapertickets.com or at the door one-hour before the performance. Reserved seating is only available online.

“Rehearsals are going great! It’s a wonderful show about acceptance and accepting people for who they are. The musical itself is a great musical,” said director Bob Berenis.

Berenis has directed for Saratoga Springs Drama Club for the last 21 years.

“When I announced the show, I was a little ambivalent, I thought some kids would like it and some wouldn’t, but they screamed so loudly I had to cover my ears. They were so excited,” he laughed.

Parents and community members have been on hand to help build the sets, which are massive. 

THE CAST:
Shrek – Kai Farr
Donkey – Spencer Boyce
Fiona – Katy Hawthorne
Lord Farquaad – Liam Epstein
Pinocchio – Phineas Goodman
Gingy/Sugarplum Fairy – Maria Sablich
Dragon – Tessa Rivenburg
Dragon at Saturday Matinee - Sarah Trimmings
Young Fiona – Ainsley Martell
Teenage Fiona – Mira DeGregory
Young Shrek/Dwarf - Kylee Martin
Papa Ogre – Teddy Vandeven
Mama Ogre – Maddy Mergl
King Harold – Ethan Crowley
Queen Lillian – Tessa Rivenburg
Wolf – Ethan Crowley
3 Blind Mice – Sarah Trimmings, Mira DeGregory, Maddy Mergl
Ugly Duckling – Molly Egan
Fairy Godmother – Margaret Scala
Humpty Dumpty – Skye Vilca
Wicked Witch – Izzy Pipino
Mama Bear – Grace Davis
Papa Bear – Teddy Vandeven
Baby Bear – Sabrina Martin
Mad Hatter – Alex Lippincott
3 Pigs – Ainsley Martell, Maddie Cook, Sofia Bolier
Elf – Lucas Pelletier
Peter Pan – Eli Jaques
Bishop – Max Novik
Pied Piper/Dance Captain – Sophia Sulkin
Thelonius – Amelie Przedwiecki
Captain – Siobhan Rogers-Harrigton

ENSEMBLE:
Madeline Slavett
Trinity Taylor
Amelia Winn
Max Novik
Kate Lindley
Anabelle Brueggeman
Samantha Corrigan
Graciella Dorsey
Yliana Syed
Fiona Taylor
Amy Vich
Elle Wilcox
Naava Wilson

[Photos provided]

BALLSTON SPA — Joe Shaver has been with Launching Pad Productions, the drama club putting on Shrek the Musical at Ballston Spa Middle School, for 16 years and has directed 14 shows. In a cast with 56 actors and 70 crew members, Shaver has been hard at work to make something great.

“It’s a lot of work but I love it. It’s what keeps me going, I love doing this. I mean I love teaching, but this is totally different. It’s not a classroom, it’s not a curriculum. It’s just like ‘let’s get a group of kids together and do something really special,’ which you can’t always do in the classroom. So, it’s really fun to get out into this place and do something fun that they love, too,” Shaver explained.

The audition process can be “grueling,” Shaver said. They see over 100 kids in two days and only four hours total.

“They don’t get a ton of time, about a minute and a half, and in that, we need to accept the right kids for the right parts. It’s very difficult but I think we do a very fair job. They get to sing for us, they get to read lines for us, we see a lot in that short time,” Shaver said.

Kids have the option of signing up to either audition, run crew, or both.

“If they audition and don’t get a part, they’ll be assigned to crew. We probably had about 175 applications all together,” he said.

Jared Wachtel, an eighth grader, was cast as Shrek. This is his first time doing a production.

“There was a good strong feeling that he’d be Shrek when I heard him sing and I don’t regret that decision at all,” Shaver said of Wachtel.

“It’s been really fun,” Wachtel said before he was rushed on stage to sing.

Liam Manion, a seventh grader in his second year with Launching Pad, is playing Pinocchio.

“This has been my dream since I was a little boy, so I’ve always wanted to be in Launching Pad,” said Manion.

Last year, Manion was an Oompa Loompa in Willy Wonka.

“I just love singing and acting, it’s really fun,” Manion said.

“We got really lucky this year with costumes. Part of the reason I selected this show is because I knew that we would have the support of a lot of local theaters, because Shrek has been done a handful the last couple of years,” Shaver explained.

Galway, Home Made Theater, and Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake Middle School donated costumes from their previous Shrek productions.

“It’s one of the biggest sets we’ve had, it’s created by one of the local parents here. He’s been with us for 13 seasons now,” Shaver said.

The set contains two spinning castle units and three large hanging moons, among other intricate designs. They also rented a life-size dragon controlled by three puppeteers.

“The kids are amazing. They are excited. I think it helps too, with it being Shrek, a show that everyone knows. So, they come in here excited to learn and wanting to learn and get better. They improve every rehearsal,” said choreographer Sarah VanAernem.

Performances are Feb. 2, 3, 9, and 10 at 7 p.m. with matinees on both Saturdays at 1 p.m. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students and seniors and can be purchased before each performance in the lobby.