This year, Oliver Ames is performing their own rendition of the iconic Footloose musical! The first show is on Friday, March 17th, at 7:30pm. The second show is on Saturday, March 18th, at 7:30pm as well. The final show is on Sunday, March 19th, at 2:00pm. It will be held at Oliver Ames in the auditorium and you can buy tickets on the OA website! Students at OA have been working very hard on this year’s musical, so we interviewed a few people who are a part of the musical to try and get their thoughts on it.
We asked a senior here at OA named Joey Pontuso how he feels about being in the musical and why he wanted to do it! Joey stated that he “decided to do it because [he] wanted to try something new for senior year and it looked like it would be a lot of fun!” He also mentioned that his favorite thing so far about being a part of the musical is the friends that he’s made! The community surrounding the musical truly seems like a great one.
Joey also informed us that they have rehearsals “4-5 days a week where [they] go over scenes, sing songs, and work on [their] lines”. This amount of work and dedication is really going to pay off! Even though they rehearse a lot, Joey stated that that isn’t the most challenging part for him.
He said that the most challenging part for him is performing in front of people. He overcame his fear though, with lots of practice and simply just learning how to be more comfortable singing and acting around others.
Joey is playing the part of Ren McCormack in Footloose, so make sure to catch him and the rest of the members in the musical there this weekend! In his own words regarding the musical, “I’m most looking forward to seeing everyone’s reaction to our show, we have been putting in a lot of work and time into this show so I hope everyone will come see Footloose and enjoy it!”
We also interviewed another senior here at OA participating in the Footloose musical. Her name is Tovah Tolub and she was very happy to talk about this year’s musical! Tovah has actually been a musical theatre fan for a long time. “I’ve been wanting to be a part of the OA musical since I was 4 and [since] watching their version of Anything Goes. I’ve been in the musical theatre world since I was little and it’s been awesome to fulfill that goal.”
As well as being a huge musical theatre fan, Tovah mentions that her favorite part about the musical is the people you get to meet. “It’s one of my favorite moments when someone who doesn’t usually put themselves into activities in the music department joins the musical. It’s such an inclusive space and we try to make everyone feel included and like they belong there.” She also mentioned, like Joey, that practicing and rehearsals are a lot of work, but they both think it is very worth it in the end.
Tovah claims that the hardest part about the musical this year is simply being a senior. “Knowing that this is the last musical I’ll get to do on this stage is definitely tough for me.” Especially for seniors, the musical can be very sentimental, as well as being incredibly exciting and nerve-racking.
Tovah is playing Urleen in this year’s musical! She stated that she is simply looking forward to the performances themselves, and seeing just how much it has brought everyone together. She closes it off by saying, “I’ll definitely miss this cast and crew.”
The last person we interviewed was another senior at OA named Owen Parker. He plays Principal Clark, Jeter, and boy 1! Owen was actually in the 2017 production of the Suessical! He’s been a part of the musical each year ever since. “I love the people and memories made from the musical. There is nothing like the musical experience.” One thing he really loves about being a part of the school musical is the people.
He also stated that everything going into the musical is a lot of work. “From sound to lighting to costuming and then the cast itself. There are so many aspects which are all so important to creating a musical like this.” Even though it’s very hard work, Owen makes a point to say just how excited he is for everyone to finally see it all come together. “I am looking forward to having all my friends and family see this show! It’s so so fun to perform and I have so much fun every night. It’s a great final show and I couldn’t be more grateful and excited.”
Although the musical experience is incredibly exciting, it can be sad for the seniors especially. Owen mentioned how he would miss being a part of the musical program. “I’m not ready to say goodbye to such an amazing program. I’m excited to come back next year and see the program thrive!” Even though it can be sad to leave such a program, it’s great to think positively and get excited for what’s to come!
With all that being said, the members of the musical are definitely excited to show how hard they’ve worked on Footloose this year. If you haven’t bought tickets already, please visit the Oliver Ames Website. The link can be found there to purchase tickets on any three days listed.