Maddie Bozack played one of the four narrators in the recent school musical, Joseph and the Technicolor Coat. A stunning performance from Maddie, she reflects that “it was an amazing experience.” She appreciated sharing the story of Joseph, but her favorite part of the play was its diversity of music, which included country, island, rock, and other styles. Maddie’s favorite song, though, was Song of the King- sung in an Elvis style by Max Lenci as the Pharaoh. Her favorite memory was “gossiping with Mr. Lapine” during music rehearsals. “I must admit I was hesitant about the show choice at first because all I knew about the play was it was a little weird and very high energy,” Maddie shares, “However, as we started rehearsals and the show came together, it grew on me. I loved being one of four narrators because we got to spend a lot of time together during rehearsals.”

Max Bozack was the stage manager of the spring musical, an especially difficult role due to the technicality of the musical’s dancing, singing, and its large ensemble. Despite these challenges, Max says, “ However, I think it turned out really well and I’m especially proud of Nate, who did an amazing job taking on the lead as a freshman and showed great dedication throughout the whole process.” As stage manager, Max feels that being behind the scenes “always provides a unique perspective on how shows are run and how they come together from nothing.” While this process can make times stressful as the show approaches, Max finds it as one of the greatest joys in the play. He also enjoys managing props, helping with mics, and directing stage crew as stage manager. He keeps everyone on time and on task, and offers his support in whatever way the cast and crew may need. “My assistant stage managers also play very significant roles in technical aspects and with helping the actors,” Max says, “and I could not have done the show without them.

Gabby was one of the narrators in the musical. She performed alongside Maddie Bozack ‘24, Abby Sebastian ‘25, and Kaley Welsh ‘25, all of whom helped guide the audience across the exciting tale. As narrators, Gabby explains how they “were able to exist both in the story and outside, and connect with the audience in ways that the rest of the cast could not.” Gabby reveals the challenging aspects of her role, “as it involved a great deal of singing and keeping high-energy” while remaining on stage for the entirety of the play. The actress nevertheless describes her experience as “completely rewarding,” attributing her love for her role to performing alongside the greatly talented Maddie, Abby, and Kaley. Her favorite song of the musical was the Megamix (a.k.a. Finale), since it was “so fast-paced and challenging.” Once the play had ended, she recalls the joy she felt as all of the actors ran into the hallway, everyone screaming as loud as they could. “This musical was by far the most enjoyable of my high school career,” Gabby reflects, “While the production’s music and story was so interesting, what really made this so enjoyable was the wonderful cast and crew!”

Max Bozack was the stage manager of the spring musical, an especially difficult role due to the technicality of the musical’s dancing, singing, and its large ensemble. Despite these challenges, Max says, “ However, I think it turned out really well and I’m especially proud of Nate, who did an amazing job taking on the lead as a freshman and showed great dedication throughout the whole process.” As stage manager, Max feels that being behind the scenes “always provides a unique perspective on how shows are run and how they come together from nothing.” While this process can make times stressful as the show approaches, Max finds it as one of the greatest joys in the play. He also enjoys managing props, helping with mics, and directing stage crew as stage manager. He keeps everyone on time and on task, and offers his support in whatever way the cast and crew may need. “My assistant stage managers also play very significant roles in technical aspects and with helping the actors,” Max says, “and I could not have done the show without them.

For the spring musical, Ian put his musical talents to the drums. His commentary on the play was that “Since this play was an opera (all songs back-to-back) this show felt very alive and fast-paced. It was well-casted, and the stage design was really impressive.” He found the Megamix at the end of the play to be the most challenging because of its great length. “It was easy to get lost and I was always tired by the end.” However, his favorite song One More Nagel/Hoedown because of the combination of a country/bluesy sound at the beginning and a fast-paced and high-energy ending. 

Anya Singh plays five instruments- piccolo, baritone sax, alto sax, baritone horn, and flute. However, the flute is her primary instrument, as she has been playing it for seven years. “I like playing different varieties of music, such as jazz, classical, and Broadway music,” Anya describes, “and the flute allows me to do so.” As such, Anya played her flute in this year’s musical, finding Hoedown to be the most challenging piece because of its fast tempo. She most enjoyed Benjamin Calypso because “it was so lighthearted,” she says, “and fun to listen to because it had a reggae vibe.” She loved this year’s play for its humor and its music-centric nature. 

Ilai was a member of the pit orchestra, playing the french horn for the musical. He found “Hoedown” to be the most challenging, while “Overture” was the most enjoyable to play. “I thought that the play went very well,” says Ilai, “and I had a great time working with everyone inside the pit.”

Mary Tropp was a member of the pit orchestra, playing both the alto saxophone and clarinet parts of the musical. “I had a really good time with this play,” Mary expresses, “it was really cool to get to perform one of Andrew Lloyd Weber’s shows. Weber is a notable composer and impresario of musical theater, with many of his musicals lasting for over a decade on Broadway. Mary found “Potiphar” to be the most challenging song— “but also the most fun, tied with the Overture and the Megamix.” The musician found all of the songs exciting, however, exclaiming that “even when [the pit wasn’t] playing [they] would sing and dance along.” Mary was also the Everyday Hero for the month of March. She was recognized for her infectious enthusiasm, thoughtfulness, and humility—all of which make her a “star pupil,” according to the Everyday Hero Committee.

Brendan played the supporting role of Levi, one of Joseph’s brothers in the musical. In playing one of the brothers, he felt that he “got to develop a bond with the other actors playing [the other] brothers and get closer to [his] castmates. He performed a French Ballad called “Those Canaan Days,” which was his favorite to sing of all the musical numbers. Brendan also sang “Close Every Door,” and one of his fondest memories was acting out the song’s lyrics to junior Aidan Kinsey backstage. “I thought that this was a wonderful show, and I am proud to have it as my final highschool performance,” says the actor, “Everyone involved made this a very enjoyable experience.”

Evan Seker’s role in the spring musical was Asher, one of the Joseph’s Brothers. He “thought [the musical] was fun, if a bit zany and incoherent,” he says. To play his role and embody Asher, Evan tried to imagine what his character might be like. “He’s really given no characterization in the play, but I always thought Asher would be a bit more sensitive and easily annoyed than his siblings,” Evan remarks on his character, “he has less solid of an identity, so he easily gets jealous of Joseph.” His favorite parts about being in the play were the silly expressions he could make and the fun he could have on stage during the songs, a moment where he truly felt he could act. Surpassing all other songs in the musical, Evan found that“Certainly Close Every Door, but Canaan Days” was the most fun sequence.

Addison Dunn played a vital role in this year’s stage crew by running the soundboard, where she controlled all the actors’ microphones and positioned the stage and instrumental microphones. While a stressful task, Addison describes how much fun it is: “ It’s so much fun to be able to watch all the performances and see any tiny changes the actors make. I have made so many friends and coming into practice every day is always the highlight of my day.” More specifically, Addison works closely with the directors to plan how everyone should sound and balances the sound levels of the instrumentalists, working with Max Bozack and Alex Wadsworth to ensure everything stays on track and sounds right. In regards to one of her favorite aspects of the play, Addison shares, “I love to watch as the show comes together from almost nothing to becoming a full show in only a few weeks and getting to be a part of such a special creation.”

Gavin was a member of the pit orchestra, playing violin 1. The musician explains how he found the song “Hoedown” to be the most challenging, as it “required [him] to play in octave double stops almost the whole time. He further explains how the “actual rhythm of the song was significantly faster than one would expect, so it was very easy to get lost.” On the other hand, “Those Canaan Days,” in which he accompanied Brendan Lobo in his solo, was his favorite to play since it left room for creative musical expression. “To me, it was the only song which made me think the composer might understand how a violin works,” says Gavin, “While I was not a huge fan of the composer’s work in this musical, I think this was all-around a very interesting piece.” Although he was unable to hear the singers very well beneath the stage, there was a TV screen set up in the pit, which allowed the musicians to see the musical in progress when they weren’t playing. 

Matt played the synthesizer keyboard in the pit orchestra. He found the song “Those Canaan Days” the most challenging since he “was playing by [himself] or with Gavin [Beyers] or Ian [Ochab] for a large part of the music, and there were many cues he had to stay alert for. On the other hand, “There’s One More Angel/Hoedown” was the song that Matt most enjoyed because “the tempo was very fast and it was more challenging to perfect.” The musician found the majority of the play to be upbeat and the songs quite entertaining. “Since it was my last year,” says Matt, “I tried to enjoy every moment, even in the long afternoons of rehearsal.”