Everyone’s excited for Nanuet’s fall play, Little Women, to finally take to the stage this weekend. The performances will be in the auditorium Friday, November 3rd, and Saturday, November 4th, both at 8 p.m. General admission is only $10, and the QR code to buy tickets is posted outside the auditorium.
Since the school year started, all cast and crew members have been working tirelessly to prepare for this show. Mrs. Cokeley, the director of the play, along with her cast and crew hope to have a great performance.
The cast and crew shared an inside look on how the play has been coming along and their own expectations for Little Women, including lead actress Cindy Mazariego, a sophomore playing Amy March.
“I’m not saying we are Broadway, but Nanuet Theater has done some spectacular shows and Little Women is coming along beautifully,” she said.
Mrs. Gardener, the March family’s snobby rich neighbor, is certainly not afraid to speak her mind, according to Emerson Rahaim, who you can see portraying Mrs. Gardener this weekend.
These characters take a lot of time to perfect, according to some members of the cast. Some spend hours a week practicing lines and emotion by themselves, on top of the countless rehearsals the cast already has.
Also able to poke fun at her character is junior Samantha Mazariego, playing Aunt March,
“Aunt March is more self-centered,” she joked.“‘Old bat’ is the perfect term to describe her.”
But the cast are not the only ones who have been preparing. Many members of the crew have worked for countless hours behind the scenes. This includes the building and paint crew, who build and paint the sets; the costume crew, who dress cast members; the light crew, who manage lights; the sound crew, who supervise the microphones and speakers; and the running crew, who move set pieces on stage during the performance.
The show is “Adult supervised but student driven” according to art teacher and paint crew supervisor Ms. Kelly Quartironi. Each crew has students in charge who spend their time ensuring that what they bring to the show is the best they can.
There is none one who can attest to this more than seniors Syntia Corona and Madison Borea, the student stage managers who manage all action behind the scenes.
“After being integrated into the process I know that the production would not be complete without the crew,” Corona said. “You wouldn’t see the lovely set pieces hand built and painted by the crew, the lights that illuminate the stage or the fabulous costumes perfectly fitted for each cast member.”
Paint crew, for example, has been working every day after school since the year began, and there wouldn’t be much of a show without it, according to junior Swapna George is an avid member of the crew.
“I think the art aspect gives it so much more and it creates the illusion that you actually are being transported into that time or that place,” said George.
But before paint crew can add their colorful touch, the building crew creates all the scenes you see on stage, according to sophomore Gillian Gravius and freshman Tabitha Skop-Rodriguez.
“Every single piece of wood you see whether it is a wall, a set of stairs, or even some windows are measured, cut, and screwed in by us, the Nanuet build crew,” said Gravius.
According to Skop-Rodriguez, the work they have done and the items they’ve built add “flavor to the play by bringing the setting of scenes to life.”
While the paint and build crews have been busy making the stage shine, costume crew has been busy making the cast stand out.
“Costume crew [chooses] the wardrobe for every actor you see on stage,” said Gravius, who like many theatre members, works in multiple crews. “They spend most of their time fitting the cast and sewing and hemming the clothes so they look perfect on stage.”
Whether in the cast or in crew, all members of this production have fallen in love with it, and hope audiences will, too.
“I absolutely recommend that everybody watches this show,” Corona said. “It displays the wonderful tale of the four March girls growing up to navigate the world in each of their unique personalities as little women. I’m sure every high schooler can relate to the message somehow, which is all the more reason to purchase your ticket to see this production!”
Anyone who loves reading or theater, or is just looking for a good time, will enjoy it, according to Mazariego.
“It’s a family friendly show that everyone will enjoy for a good time and a good laugh, and possibly some tears,” she said.
