Hamburg Area Drama Hawks performed “The Music Man” on March 17, 18, and 19.
Most people that come and sit in the audience do not actually realize what goes into creating a musical and making it perfect. There are a lot of hours and ton of dedication poured into a two-hour production for only a three-day show.
The cast began learning their lines and dances all the way back in January meeting at least twice a week. Gradually more days were added until every day of the week excluding weekends and Thursdays, the cast came to the Hamburg Area High School to rehearse. Typically every rehearsal would last three hours, but some were longer.
However, the cast alone are not what make the show so wonderful. Most of the real action happens behind the scenes by those that are never seen on stage. The crew members are very vital for a theater performance. They are the ones in charge of set changes and keeping all the props organized backstage. They are quick little elves that slip on and off stage in between scenes and make the fast change into another scene, while making sure no one gets hurt.
More of the crew that never set foot on stage also contribute a major part to the production. These crew members are in the sound booth and handle turning up and down the microphones. They add in sound effects to go along with the production. For example, in “The Music Man,” the sound booth crew had to make sure to play the sound effects for the train or fire cracker on time. Another crew member that is up in the sound booth changes the lights on the stage and controls the spotlight. They make the light and sound of the musical sound and look amazing.
The musical could never be complete without the costumes. The costume designer Miss Margie is very dedicated and pours countless hours into making the costumes perfect for the cast to wear. She does have an assistant, but still it is a ton of hard work for them. They ask simple requests for the cast to help out with, like getting their own tights, or shoes, or even bringing in any scrap ribbon. From afar in the theater the tiny ribbons may not be noticed, but without them the costume would not be complete. Miss Margie must make sure each costume matches the time period of the musical, so the audience can believe it is that time period.
The producer of The Music Man, Miss Susan, does a lot of work as well. She is the one that organizes the production of the playbill that is handed out at the door. Miss Susan makes sure every cast, crew, and staff member have completed their biography for the pamphlet. She has the cast help get patrons to pay for the booklet and also gets the t-shirt for the cast to order.
In live theater, the music is all being played straight from the orchestra. The orchestra works hard to learn the music and make sure not to mess it up for the cast. This year’s pit was not just made up of Hamburg students, but even some from Kutztown University came to help out. The composer this year, Miss DeeAnna, it was her first time being in charge of pit, so she had a really hard task to conquer. She had to not only direct the musicians, but the cast on stage, so they would keep the beat and know their cut off. Even though it was her first year, she did fantastic and so did all of the people playing their instruments.
The cast would mess their notes up in the musical numbers if it were not for their vocal director, Mrs. Jackson, the music teacher at the Hamburg Area High School. During rehearsals she would practice with the cast in the choir room teaching each group the proper notes to sing and when the cut off was. She made sure it sounded good all together and the cast was all in key. Thanks to Mrs. Jackson for keeping The Music Man on key and in tune.
No one automatically knows all the dances or what to even do for them. That is where the choreographer, Miss Heidi steps in. Every practice the Drama Hawks had, she was there teaching some dance or tuning up another. She formed each dance on her own and taught her skills to the cast. At first it was a bit difficult for the cast to get a handle on the style of dancing, but with plenty of practice, they were quick to catch on. The dancing in a musical really does tell the story more and adds life to the stage. This year, Miss Heidi even did more than just the dances. She did the hair and make-up of nearly every girl in the cast. Preparing for the show she would be doing hair for about two hours without a break.
A musical or a play cannot even happen without the director. The director, Miss Beth, instructed the cast how to act and gave them pointers the entire time. She oversaw the whole thing and if she did not like something, she would change it. Though the others are important and have their own role to play, they all had to check with Miss Beth from time to time. Like Miss Beth would be planning the acting in a scene, while Miss Heidi was teaching the dancing. The two then would have to make sure it would look nice together and no one would crash into the other.
The set is also important and the Drama Hawks came together on Saturdays to build the set from scratch. Miss Jill designed the set and instructed the cast members, and whoever else showed up to help, what to do. Piece by piece the set was built and was finished quicker than it had been planned. Miss Jill also helped with the lights up in the booth.
Preparing for The Music Man was a lot of hard work, but there was plenty of fun in between as well. The cast and crew enjoyed a day half way to the show, when they got to dress up for Monarch Monday. They also had a pajama day and were allowed to wear their pajamas to practice. The humorous cast members kept the others laughing and having a wonderful time. Even learning and doing the production was very fun for the cast members and everyone else involved. Sadly 12 amazing seniors will be graduating this year, and saying goodbye for anyone is not easy. It truly was a great musical and a wonderful year.
