Springfield High Preps for ‘42nd Street’

It was sunny and cool at the end of the school day Monday. All eight students of the stage crew, including senior Ryan Stone, stood outside holding big, blue and white "42nd Street" signs against wooden frames in front of the school. A few drilled a corner of a wooden sign onto a frame, leaving the sign hanging at an angle. Students pushed the low end of the sign from the bottom until it was even with the other side and drilled it on. Broadcast Journalism and Video Production teacher David Jurkiewicz was there to help.

Parents of the students made the signs and are also responsible for doing the majority of the set-building for the show, but the stage crew has plenty of other jobs to do, explained Stone.

“The main thing we do is move the set pieces around during the show. We help put the signs up, and we also design the lights and run the lights for the shows.”

Stone has been involved in stage crew since he was very young. He began working at the Player’s Club in Swarthmore in 2001 and has worked backstage for previous Springfield High School musicals like "The Music Man", "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying" and last year’s "The Wizard of Oz." He was also involved in the plays "Almost Maine" and "Journey to the Day."

“I’ve been doing it my entire life. It’s something I enjoy,” he said.

Just like Stone, the cast, crew, pit band, parents and faculty at the high school have been working hard at the end of each school day since December from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. to prepare for the upcoming spring show, "42nd Street", to be performed in March.

This is the first time the school has ever done the show.

“We had a lot of kids who knew how to tap dance, so we decided this was the year to do it,” Musical Director Paul Kerrigan explained.

"42nd Street" is about a naïve but talented young actress named Peggy who eventually rises to stardom as a Broadway actor at the 42nd Street Theatre. The musical is performed as a “show within a show.”

Kerrigan, who has been directing shows at Springfield High School for the past 10 years, made the show selection alongside Choreographer, Chris Perez, and Music Director, Sue Descano. They have been working diligently with students to get the show running.

Auditions for the musical took place at the end of November and special tap dancing classes were held soon after to prepare the cast for the dance numbers.

“One and two, three and four, five and six, seven and eight,” Perez counted as students in brightly-colored shirts practiced tapping their special shoes for a few crew members who watched the cast run through the first act of the show.

“Let’s try it with music this time,” Perez said rousing Kevin Turnbull, who sat patiently at the piano. Turnbull began playing steady, rhythmic cords and the dancers moved in time with the music.

Senior , an aspiring Broadway star, playing the lead role of Peggy Sawyer, has been tap dancing for 16 years. She took part in each of the school’s last 10 shows and has a lot in common with the young, musical character she plays. “Except I’m not as naïve,” she said, smiling.

Playing Peggy isn’t a challenge for Yingling because her songs are all within her mezzo-soprano range. She has been taking voice lessons for about seven years. She practices scales and drinks tea for her voice before shows.

But despite the ease Yingling has singing and embodying her character, the show itself is a difficult one for her and other cast members, in that it is very fast moving and requires a lot of stamina.

Students spend about 150 hours at rehearsals over the course of a two-and-a-half month period before the show. They also practice outside of school. Hours of practice will increase in the week preceding the show.

“Building the stamina is hard,” Yingling said. But she said “getting lost in the character,” is something that helps her to stay focused and keep her energy up.

Junior Alex Melso, playing the role of Billy Lawlor, the male lead in the show, has been tap dancing for 13 years and has been cast in every musical since his freshman year. He’s also preparing himself for the physical exertion that the show requires.

“I’ve been jogging for stamina,” he said. “I sweat like an animal.”

He said it’s hard to stay focused because his character is very active and enthusiastic in the play. When it comes to pulling himself together, Davis Caramanico, a junior crew member, is Melso’s go-to man.

“He’s my prop person. He keeps me on task,” Melso said. “He helps with my costume—my cane and hat. He throws a hat to me in one scene.”

James Cella, a future casting director, playing the role of Julian, the director in the show, has also been cast in all of Springfield High School’s last four musicals.

Cella’s current role—a huge shift from his role as the Cowardly Lion in last year’s The Wizard of Oz—is a challenge for him. But he’s working hard to get the character down pat.

“I’ve never played a role like this before. The character has this strong personality,” Cella said.

He also noted the challenge of the script itself. “This role has a lot of lines. There’s more scene work than songs and dances.” To prepare, he said, “I read through the script and go through scenes at rehearsal.”

One challenge for the crew, Caramanico noted, as he positioned himself behind a grey cylindrical wooden dime that stood high above his head backstage, will be rolling out the massive structures onto the stage during the We’re in the Money number. The dimes will serve as platforms on which cast members will tap dance.

“They were hard to build. A lot of geometry goes into this,” Kerrigan said as he leaned over a stack of wooden dimes, discussing the show budget with crew member Lexi Galantino.

There’s also a lot to look forward to for people involved in the show and those who go to see it.

The show is a large undertaking, according to Kerrigan. “The size of it is huge,” she said. “The sets keep coming.” The train station and railroad track are two notable aspects of the set that audiences will be sure to recognize.

Kerrigan also named all the show’s popular songs: "Lullaby of Broadway", "We’re in the Money", "42nd Street" theme song and "Shuffle Off to Buffalo."

The cast is excited too. Cella can’t wait to perform the montage in which Peggy must prepare an entire show’s worth of material in a little over two days, while Yingling is looking forward to singing the "42nd Street" theme song.

“It’s the iconic song of the show,” she said.

Melso is eager to perform “Dames,” a song about women sung by all the male characters in the play. What he loves most about the show is how everyone’s acting skills come together.

“I love the compatibility,” he said.

Preparing for the show is challenging and rewarding in many different ways, but students at Springfield High School show that they are capable of working hard as a team and enjoying themselves at the same time.

After finishing a one-on-one practice of his songs with Descano at the piano in the music room, Cella revealed what he says is the best part of his high school theater experience—which likely sums up the feelings of his fellow theater friends:

“My favorite part is working with the cast and with other people who love theater as much as I do,” he said.

Springfield High School’s will show "42nd Street" in the auditorium on the following dates:

Individual Tickets:

Seats in the first 11 rows are $8

General Admission:

$7 for adults

$5 for students

$3 for senior citizens

$8 at the door (for all seats)

Family Discount Pass:

$15 per person

Good for ONE General Admission ticket to ALL shows.

Volume Discount:

Buy 10 or more tickets for ANY performances (can be General Admission or Reserved). Receive a discount of $1 off the price of each ticket.

Group Discount:

Buy 10 or more tickets for ONE performance (can be General Admission or Reserved). Receive a discount of $1 off the price of each ticket.

Call 610-938-6292 or email naismpat@ssd.k12.pa.us for information and tickets.