This year’s musical, art follows a family as they navigate life and changing times on the eve of the 1904 World’s Fair. A show full of colorful ensemble numbers and iconic songs like “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” the production excited much of the StageStreaks community. With a cast and crew of 120 participating in last year’s production of “Aida,” it was no surprise to choral director Bethany Houff that this year would have such a large turnout.

“I think students are excited about being in our show,” Houff said. “We have a lot of freshmen and sophomores who auditioned, and a lot of sophomores who didn’t audition last year auditioned this year, which is very promising. It means they heard good things about the program and they want to be a part of it.”

Musical auditions took place from Nov. 14 to 16, with approximately 90 students going through the audition process. Each student prepared a selected song from the show alongside a one minute monologue.

“When you audition, mentally getting over yourself is the hardest part. [The auditioning process] combs out the people who aren’t dedicated enough to be a part of a show like this. It’s a lot of work,” Junior Jane Wyatt said of the auditioning process. The cast list was posted after callbacks, on November 23.

Every year, musical takes over the lives of much of the student body for three months, and senior stage manager and four-year crew member, Megan Labarge, knows this feeling well. Labarge worked behind the scenes for “Oklahoma!” and “Seussical” and took the reins last year as stage manager for “Aida.” She is a fundamental part of the road to opening night.

“[Being stage manager] is a huge time commitment. I’m involved in the rehearsals, but there is so much to do outside of school. The stage manager is essentially a communication point between the students, parents and directors. It means I have major responsibilities off the stage, all the things that no one sees that make a production run successfully,” Labarge said.

This year’s show will have considerably less complex set and costuming than “Aida,” which means that the student talent will be what carries most of the show. “Meet Me in St. Louis” is unique in that it requires dance skills that the StageStreaks haven’t used since shows like “Oklahoma!” and “Thoroughly Modern Millie.”

“We’re doing a lot of big social dances from the early 1900s. Dancewise, it won’t be extremely complicated in regards to what they’re doing, but the formations will be; we’ll be going from circles to lines to zigzags and back and forth. They’re gonna sweat a lot,” Amber Corriston, resident dance teacher and the show’s primary choreographer said.

Though the show’s directors believe that the skillset needed to pull of a show like “St. Louis” is vast, many students feel up to the challenge. For senior Noelle Warne, this isn’t a problem.

Warne has been cast in the role of Esther, the heroine of “Meet Me in St. Louis,” portrayed by Judy Garland in the film.

“I’m excited to delve into my character because she is so different from every other character I’ve played. A lot of my most recent roles have all brought challenges by being out of my character type because of age, gender or body type. However, Esther is similar to me in all those respects,” Warne said. “The real challenge will be to capture all of her intricacies that make her more than the average love-struck female lead. It’s easy to make Esther flat and forgettable, but I want to bring her all the life she deserves.”

Rehearsals begin with vocal work, and will eventually expand to include script, blocking and choreography. The rehearsal schedule will gain momentum after winter break. For many in the cast, including sophomore Sam Schaeffer, this is a big transition to make.

“I have to fit [musical] in around a lot of other extracurriculars. It increases the amount of time I spend at school and decreases my time for homework. It’s exhausting, but it’s definitely worth it by opening night,” Schaeffer said.

Although rehearsals will start out with only a few main characters taking part, many of the cast members are excited for what’s to come.

“I can’t wait to start working with this cast. Everyone has so much talent and great instincts. Every person in the cast will have to have tons of energy, perfect timing and the right mix of comedy and honesty in order to make this show work. I have no doubt that everyone will work their hardest to make this the best possible production,” Warne said.

“Meet Me in St. Louis” rehearsals will begin to take off after winter break. The show will open on Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2017 and run until Sunday, Feb. 19. Tickets will be available online before Christmas break.

Harrisonburg High School StageStreaks

MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS

Cast in order of Appearance

Tootie Smith                          Kate Cummings

Postman                                 Winston Jeffries

Agnes Smith                           Gabby Wilson

Lon Smith                               Greg Castillo

Mrs. Anna Smith                    Eleanor Alger

Katie                                       Julie Hedrick

Grandpa Prophater              Parker Rising

Rose Smith                             Ana Hart

Esther Smith                          Noelle Warne

John Truitt                             Seth Bontrager

Mr. Alonso Smith                   Corin Vogel

Warren Sheffield                  Ben Hollenbeck

Eve                                          Julia Inouye

Motorman                              Jericho Zornes

Lucille Ballard                        Genevieve Cowardin

ENSEMBLE:

(Party Guests, Trolley Passengers, Ballroom Couples, Carolers, Crowd, Etc.)

Marley Adamek, Ayam Ali, Jenna Altaii, Andrew Ansah, Zach Benevento, Marena Benton, Bo Boisen, Nick Burzumato, Carly Corso, Phillip Duong, Chris Estes, Maria Garcia, Nick Gladd, Weston Hatfield, Randee Rose Joven, Raghab Kharel, Audrey Knupp, Aerious Kubin, Julia Lawton, Declan Leach, Samantha Little, Wiston Lobo, Josh Lucas, Paula Lugo, Noah McIntire, Alice McNett, Joel McNett, Grace Miller, Alex Osinkosky, Alice Perrine, Nicole Raab, Danner Rebhun, Shadther Rosso-Feliz, Sam Schaeffer, Ethan Scribano, Kyle Showalter, Sophia Thomas, Robin Vogel, Emily Werner, Rachel Wilcox, Kennedy Wolter, Jane Wyatt, Gia Yoder

Cast list courtesy of Stanley Swartz