Review: "We Will Rock You" by Immaculate High School

Danbury, CT - The students of Immaculate High School worked around a long list of pandemic restrictions to produce a filmed version of their spring musical, “We Will Rock You.” The film premiered on Thursday evening on the big screen at Edmond Town Hall in Newtown for the cast and a small group of invited guests.

I was honored to be included in the latter and enjoyed sitting among the high school students to watch the final product. The students were a respectful audience and overwhelmingly supported the classmates that took part in the musical in this most difficult of years.

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Director/Choreographer Matthew Farina, a talented community theatre performer, returns to the high school for the sixth time to lead the students, although he has been with Immaculate for thirteen years. He received the 2019 Special Achievement Award by The Stephen Sondheim Awards for his innovative work on “Pippin.” By day, he is the gifted and talented/enrichment teacher at Redding Elementary School in Redding.

Kathleen Czel served as producer, and Musical Director Jen Doherty made the singers sound their very best.

Immaculate HS junior Kevin Coonan, who has been acting since he was 6 years old, did very well playing the leading role of Galileo Figaro. Senior Abby Giansiracusa was strong in the role of his love interest Scaramouche. She will be pursuing Music Education in college and looks forward to making a musical impact on students, just like Matt, Ms. Czel, and Mrs. Doherty have made on her.

Senior Nicole Kolitsas rocked the role of Killer Queen She thanks Matt, Mrs. Doherty, and Ms. Czel for being such amazing leaders and for being rocks for her the past four years.

Junior Jack Gibowicz was Khashoggi, Buddy Junior Lilly Zuccala, a student at Broadway Method Academy, sang beautifully as Buddy, Senior Robert Fontenelli played Brit, Senior Siobhan Reidy was delightful in the role of Oz, rocking lots of pink hair. Senior Vincent Fontenelli played the role of Paul McCartney.

Continuing the theme of characters named after famous rockers, Carol King was played by senior Grace Garvey, Steven Tyler was covered by senior Matt Riggs, Stevie Nicks was channeled by senior Alyssa Campo, Madonna by senior Remy Chila, Billy Joel by senior Perry Ghosh, Mick Jagger by junior Courtney McCormack, Led Zeppelin by senior Stella Sabo, and Van Halen by senior Allie Demko.

Senior Remy Chila played a teacher, Mean Teen Queen Senior Jenna Vieux portrayed the extra Mean Teen Queen.

The Ga Ga Kids, Teen Queens, Yuppies, and Bohemians were played by subsets of these members of the ensemble: Joey Arizzi, Julia Babcock, Catherine Baptiste, Ethan Beaulac, Alyssa Campo, Remy Chila, Julianna Chronakos, Carina Clark, Dance Captain Allie Demko, Anna Flaherty, Vincent Fontenelli, Grace Garvey, Leah Ghosh, Perry Ghosh, Lauren Goodman, Meghan Kearns, Carly MacKinnon, Sara MacKinnon, Courtney McCormack, Gabriela Ortiz, Sophia Pertoso, Matt Riggs, Dance Captain Stella Sabo, Melanie Seaman, Stage Manager Alyssa Suarez, and Prop Mistress Jenna Vieux.

Kudos to one and all for executing the wonderful choreography, sometimes performed just above the waist and for making it work with a mask.

Costumer Alexa Wild, with her Costume Assistant Heidi Flaherty were in charge of the rainbow hues of the bohemian costumes, as well as the other futuristic ensembles that were rented from D&B Productions. The virtual program design was by Kathleen Czel , who also designed the show T-Shirts Kathleen Czel. The Freddie Mercury bust was constructed by Leslie Quinn.

The cinematography by the director and director of photography Justin Saluzzi was visually interesting and well-filmed. Editing by Saluzzi was crisp and easy on the eyes.
Audio recording/mixing done by Raw Recording Studios worked wonderfully for the musical numbers. My older ears found it difficult to make out the lines of the lines in the scenes filmed outdoors because of the mask and the wind; the scenes filmed in the school building were much easier to understand. Unfortunately, much of the humor was missed in the outdoor scenes, although the students did the best they could to act through their masks.

Saluzzi has been filming and editing his own projects since a young age and he is currently in his second year at Pace University where he is working towards a major in Digital Cinema and Filmmaking. He hopes to one day become an editor in the movie industry. This is his second collaboration with Matt Farina.

I am grateful to the production team for allowing me to experience the film’s premiere with the cast, a unique experience that I enjoyed.