Osseo Senior High School Students Present “Hello Dolly”

The auditorium inside is bustling with activity as students rehearse for an upcoming show. After warming up their vocal cords, students take their places and start from the top of “Hello Dolly.”

“It’s been awhile since we did a classic, so we decided to get back to our musical roots this year,” Artistic Director Heather Klug said. “It’s a great show with a lot of laughs and great music.”

It’s a smaller show in terms of cast size for Klug, with 36 students acting.  “It’s a nice change,” she said. In recent years she has organized large shows like Willy Wonka with more than 70 actors. 

There may be fewer students on stage, but for lead actors Kaitlyn Barrett and Miles Hall, the show is a lot of work. Auditions were held the first week of school and rehearsal started soon after. 

“We have worked really hard on this show and learned a lot about how things were a few decades ago,” Barrett said. The show is set in the late 1960s and follows Dolly Levi, played by Barrett, as she works her matchmaking magic.

“Back then people spoke to each other politely, they weren’t fighter over things like Twitter posts like we do now.”

It’s not the only thing the actors have learned. “We’ve had to roll with the punches,” Hall said, who plays the other main character, Horace Vandergelder.  About ten days before opening night the cast had not worked with the set. “It’s all part of theatre, you just learn to trust your instincts and the people on stage.”

Despite a few hurdles, both Barrett and Hall believe the show will go off without a hitch on Friday night. “There is a lot of great interaction with the audience,” Barrett said. “And a lot of great acting and singing,” Hall added. “I think the public will love it.”

The community can on Nov. 4, 5, 11 and 12 at 7:30 p.m. and Nov.  6 at 2:30 p.m. Tickets will be available at the door, or through an order form on the school’s website. The cost is $8 for adults and $6 for students, children and seniors.