Spring Musical Time Travels Back To Rock Era
By Jocelyn Cosgrove
By Jocelyn Cosgrove
On March 25, the advanced drama class opened the PAC doors for family, friends and staff to watch the opening performance of their spring musical “It’s Still Rock and Roll To Me.”
The show, written by Dan D’ali, is a musical set close to home, featuring a radio station that plays old ‘50 and ‘60s rock ‘n’ roll hits. Aside from these old-timey hits, the performers put on a few commercial skits as well, including one about doctors and cigarettes, a clip from “I Love Lucy” and one from “The Abbott and Costello Show.”
Drama teacher Ashley Coleman saw “It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me” as the perfect pick for a spring musical, and worked through challenges in order to obtain the rights to the performance.
“When seeking out a musical for the spring, I aimed to find something that was flexible and joy-filled,” said Coleman. “We had a challenge though, as this musical was not available for amateur licensing, and no high school had ever performed it. So, I reached out to the writer directly seeking a license. He graciously gave Pioneer exclusive rights to ‘It’s Still Rock and Roll To Me’ and even attended the show on its opening weekend. It is a tremendous honor for our department.”
Auditions for “It’s Still Rock and Roll To Me” were held in mid-December, while rehearsals started in the beginning of January. The performers had to dedicate a lot of time to learn the fifty-five songs in this two hour show.
“The hardest part was definitely just learning all of the dance choreography because there were 50+ numbers to learn in such a short amount of time,” said Natalie Burrill, 10.
With the spring musical being the second show performed by the advanced drama class this year, the performers were excited to see they had a full audience waiting to see their show. For Victor Hernandez Bustos, 12, it was the best part of the show, being able to interact with the crowd and hear their applause as they finished each number.
“Such a fun element of the show especially with a full house! Just engaging with them and singing along with each song truly wins them over! It’s the best,” said Hernandez Bustos.
One of Burrill’s favorite parts of the whole musical was being able to sing solos as a featured singer and have the opportunity to sing “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” which she dueted on with Luke Jennings, 10, in act two.
“This song was definitely the most difficult song for me to sing, but it was a fun challenge,” said Burrill.
Before the opening night performance started, Hernandez Bustos was awarded the Gypsy Robe, which is the highest award given to any drama student who represents PHS drama.
“It was surreal. I really thought it would have been someone else in the cast but I’m 100% honored. It just really puts into perspective how much hard work pays off,” said Hernandez Bustos.
The advanced drama class worked hard to make “It’s Still Rock and Roll To Me,” into a fun filled, rock ‘n’ roll musical. Coleman is proud of the drama class and what they have accomplished while doing this show.
“As a director and choreographer, I am very proud of how the cast performed,” said Coleman. “They gave performances worthy of their time, talents, and skills, and welcomed our patrons back with joy and enthusiasm.”
Even with the end of the year coming up in the next six weeks, there is still more in store for the advanced drama class. The next set of performances advanced drama will be doing is “The Little Mermaid” as the elementary school travel show.
The show, written by Dan D’ali, is a musical set close to home, featuring a radio station that plays old ‘50 and ‘60s rock ‘n’ roll hits. Aside from these old-timey hits, the performers put on a few commercial skits as well, including one about doctors and cigarettes, a clip from “I Love Lucy” and one from “The Abbott and Costello Show.”
Drama teacher Ashley Coleman saw “It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me” as the perfect pick for a spring musical, and worked through challenges in order to obtain the rights to the performance.
“When seeking out a musical for the spring, I aimed to find something that was flexible and joy-filled,” said Coleman. “We had a challenge though, as this musical was not available for amateur licensing, and no high school had ever performed it. So, I reached out to the writer directly seeking a license. He graciously gave Pioneer exclusive rights to ‘It’s Still Rock and Roll To Me’ and even attended the show on its opening weekend. It is a tremendous honor for our department.”
Auditions for “It’s Still Rock and Roll To Me” were held in mid-December, while rehearsals started in the beginning of January. The performers had to dedicate a lot of time to learn the fifty-five songs in this two hour show.
“The hardest part was definitely just learning all of the dance choreography because there were 50+ numbers to learn in such a short amount of time,” said Natalie Burrill, 10.
With the spring musical being the second show performed by the advanced drama class this year, the performers were excited to see they had a full audience waiting to see their show. For Victor Hernandez Bustos, 12, it was the best part of the show, being able to interact with the crowd and hear their applause as they finished each number.
“Such a fun element of the show especially with a full house! Just engaging with them and singing along with each song truly wins them over! It’s the best,” said Hernandez Bustos.
One of Burrill’s favorite parts of the whole musical was being able to sing solos as a featured singer and have the opportunity to sing “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” which she dueted on with Luke Jennings, 10, in act two.
“This song was definitely the most difficult song for me to sing, but it was a fun challenge,” said Burrill.
Before the opening night performance started, Hernandez Bustos was awarded the Gypsy Robe, which is the highest award given to any drama student who represents PHS drama.
“It was surreal. I really thought it would have been someone else in the cast but I’m 100% honored. It just really puts into perspective how much hard work pays off,” said Hernandez Bustos.
The advanced drama class worked hard to make “It’s Still Rock and Roll To Me,” into a fun filled, rock ‘n’ roll musical. Coleman is proud of the drama class and what they have accomplished while doing this show.
“As a director and choreographer, I am very proud of how the cast performed,” said Coleman. “They gave performances worthy of their time, talents, and skills, and welcomed our patrons back with joy and enthusiasm.”
Even with the end of the year coming up in the next six weeks, there is still more in store for the advanced drama class. The next set of performances advanced drama will be doing is “The Little Mermaid” as the elementary school travel show.