Wantagh Drama Club Brings Disney Hits To Stage

WANTAGH, NY. — Wantagh Middle School’s drama club will bring Disney hits from across the decades to stage next weekend, as the club performs their production of “Dare to Dream Junior.”

The musical revue features standards from Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, Coco, Encanto, Frozen, The Lion King, The Little Mermaid, Toy Story and Zootopia, which the show’s director, Kristin Fragola, said were recently released for school productions.

The musical follows a group of trainees at a fictional Disney imagineering studio who set out to live their dreams. Over the course of that journey to do so, district officials said, the characters discover that just about anything is possible.

When asked why Dare to Dream Junior was chosen as the musical, Fragola said it was the quality of the music and dance numbers that made the difference.

“The audience will love the music, as these are well-known songs,” Fragola said. “It’s been a pleasure working with a talented cast and crew.”

For Players 1 and 2, played by eighth graders Lucas Iacono and Diana Goncalves, the job on-stage is to lead the rest of the trainees. Rounding out the principal cast are Rosalie Della Croce, Angelina Frisch, Joseph Leone, Sophia McManamon and Lia Petrillo. The total cast is 53 students under Fragola’s direction.

“It takes all of our childhood songs and puts them together into a musical,” Iacono said. “It’s very nostalgic.”

Also helping coordinate the production are production director Dr. Kimberly Davis and vocal director Sameerah Cassidy, with Jack Schiefer serving as technical director.

Performances will take place on Mar. 13 at 7 p.m. and on Mar. 14 at 1 p.m. and 7 p.m. in the Wantagh High School auditorium. Anyone interested in attending can do so by purchasing tickets at seatyourself.biz/wantaghms. The tickets cost $15 for adults and $12 for students and seniors.