On Saturday, February 18th, the Drama Club presented their very own showcase, rather than doing their usual Spaghetti Dinner. Consisting of two acts, students from the play came out and performed for approximately 150 viewers, which was highlighted by the cast, when they sang excerpt of the song, “Tradition”, from their production of “Fiddler on the Roof”.

The showcase was led off by freshman Sophia Waninger, who sang “Tonight” from the musical “West Side Story”, and included performances by seniors Wes Hopkins, Christina Gentile, and Chris Stavalone.

Chris and Wes wrapped up the first act by singing what seemed to be the fan favorite that night, “Tribute” by Tenacious D. Christina Gentile sang “I Don’t Know My Name” by Grace Vanderwaal, accompanied by Matt Abrams.

There were more performances by sophomores Jack Rooney and Nick Hite, who sang “Dear Theodosia” from the breakout play “Hamilton”, sophomore Maggie Harbord, who sang “Home”, and a duet by junior Maddy Thompson and senior Alexa Aulicino, who sang “16 Going On 17”.

The showcase would not have been possible due to the hard work of the Drama Club’s stage manager/ producer, Sean Wilson, who took a big part in organizing and setting up the whole showcase. This is Mr. Wilson’s 7th year as the Drama Club’s advisor, and he feels as if the show is “more stripped down than last year,” in reference to last year’s successful musical “Sweeney Todd: Demon Barber of Fleet Street”. “…it’s also a show that our production staff had done before, so there’s a comfortability with it,” Wilson explained on how the play was coming along. “We’re in a pretty good place; where kind of ahead of schedule and everybody feels comfortable with it. The vocals, choreography, and the set are all coming along.” He then went on to describe how because the drama club has done “Fiddler on the Roof” before and how everyone knows exactly what to do, instead of learning as they go along.

“Fiddler on the Roof” is about a man, Tevye, played by Wes Hopkins, father of five girls, whom must cope with the actions of three of his daughters, who wish to marry each man of choice is further away from the customs of his faith—and with the Tsar that evicts them from their village.

Christina Gentile plays the sharp-tongued wife, Golde. “She has five kids and she basically is the person who keeps it all together. Golde keeps the wheels turning,” Christina responded when asked about her character. “As much as Tevye thinks he’s the master of the house, it’s honestly Golde behind the scenes. Because everything Tevye does he knows he has to tell Golde and please her.”

The final senior with a primary role is Christopher Stavalone, who plays Perchik, a man who comes into the town of Anatevka and “completely changes their ways of living with his ideas and philosophy.” He falls for one of Tevye’s daughters, Hodel, and shows intensity and unfailing commitment to his beliefs.

The three seniors will be taking part in their final school production, and when they were asked on how they feel about conceptualizing their final production, they each gave their own heart-felt responses:

“I don’t want my time on the stage to end and I don’t want to go my separate ways from these people,” said Christina Gentile. “These people and this stage are my family. And saying goodbye to family is always the hardest thing.”

“It’s disappointing to see the end,” said Christopher. “It was a great time while it lasted. It’s hard to say goodbye.”

The opening show is on Friday, March 17th at 8 p.m., March 18th at 8 p.m., with 2-p.m. matinees on the 18th and the 19th. Admission is $10 per adult; students are $8 and seniors citizens are free admission.