Skyline Theatre typically puts on a musical, a play, and as a one-act in a year, in addition to taking trips (to Festival, to London or Paris) and running associated classes. This can be a lot. Below is a brief roundup of all of Skyline Theatre’s events this past year.
Urinetown: Fall Musical
See the Playbill here.
Urinetown’s central premise is that of a dystopian world in which people must pay to pee, on penalty of being sent to the mysterious Urinetown. A boy, Bobby Strong (played by Gabriel Hill), becomes radicalized after his father is taken to Urinetown by Officers Lockstock (Leif Tenbrink) and Barrel (Jack Dunmire) when he cannot pay Penelope Pennywise (El Meyers)’s fee. There’s singing, dancing, and fourth-wall breaking—by Lockstock and Little Sally (Svea von der Leith)— as well as a burgeoning romance with Hope Cladwell (Kaitlyn Dolan), daughter of the villainous UGC founder Caldwell B. Cladwell (Chris Berlongieri). Bobby is joined by a gaggle of revolutionaries, including Hot-Blades Harry (Nico Allen) and Little Beckie Two-Shoes (Lexie Meyer).
“Urinetown was my first musical as director at Skyline,” said Brodie Brockie, office professional. “I was really happy with the results. For a show that is very silly on the surface, it also has a lot of important things to say about climate change, the intersection of capitalism and politics, and the dangers of populism. It asks a lot of important questions and reminds us that there are no easy answers.”
“With our trimester schedules, we have a short amount of time to get the show in before we run into conflicts with final exams and Thanksgiving break,” said Brockie on what the biggest challenge was. “We also found our vocal director a little later than we hoped, so we found ourselves with a rehearsal period a couple of weeks shorter than what’s ideal. We had a committed and enthusiastic cast and crew, though, and everyone came together and made it work.”
Fantastic Mr. Fox: Theatre II and III Class Show
See the Playbill here.
Roald Dahl’s children’s novel, Fantastic Mr. Fox, was adapted into a play by the Theatre II class with help from an alumni, Ben Bower, and performed. Mr. Fox (Huck Amick) is a clever fox, stealing from the horrid Boggis (Kazimir Rosenblum-Muzik), Bunce (El Myers), and Bean (Nolan Bloor), and their assistant Petey (Will Powers) to feed his family: Mrs. Fox (Jazz Chacon-Valdez), Jesse Fox (Selene Gryniewicz), and Charlie Fox (Z Calvachi).
However, his hubris leads him to ever more dangerous schemes, threatening all of the animals of the farm, and he, with his family and friends Badger (Krystal Henderson) and son, Sam Badger (Addy England), face new enemies like the Rat (Benji Davidoff) in their struggle to survive.
“I personally found my experience in Fantastic Mr. Fox to be the best performance I’ve been in so far,” said Nolan Bloor (‘24). “I loved playing Bean, and it was an absolute joy to work alongside such wonderful people.”
Blue Stockings: Spring Play
See the Playbill here.
At Girton College, 1896, Tess Moffat (Olivia Palmbos) and three of her fellow students, Celia Willbond (Lexi Meyers), Carolyn Addison (Lily Stewart), and Maeve Sullivan (Celia Lyon), as well as Headmistress Elizabeth Welsh (Gia Falcicchio-Wall) and Girton teachers Thomas Banks (Timothy O’Connell) and Miss Blake (Ella Monsuma), struggle for the girls’ right to graduate.
At the men’s colleges, Tess’s childhood friend, Will Bennett (Huck Amick) tries to keep an eye out for her, Ralph Mayhew (Abigail Becker) develops an interest in her, and Lloyd (Nico Allen) and his friends, Holmes (Benji Davidoff) and Edwards (Nora DeRosia) react to the Girtonites.
Sarita Gankin (‘24) and Chris Wallace (‘23) were stage managers for Blue Stockings, assisting the director (Anne Marie Roberts, known as AMR) and ensuring that actors know what’s going on.
“Working with Chris Wallace was basically a golden partnership,” said Gankin. “It was a privilege to get to be a leader for such a great group of actors and techies who all worked tirelessly to pull off our show.”
“Doing it with one of my favorite people, Sarita Gankin, allowed me to have fun in a professional setting,” said Wallace. “I enjoyed the many memories I made with the cast and crew and the impact they all had on me. I was not only able to fulfill my role in being a leader, but I was enamored by the opportunity to explore my acting capabilities, which I’ve always been afraid to pursue.”
The Brothers’ Grimm Spectaculathon: Senior One-Act
See the Playbill here.
A half step and trip into a whirling world of fairy-tales lands you in the middle of The Brothers’ Grimm Spectaculathon. Director Arywn Wilder (‘23) and stage managers Lexi Meyers (‘23) and Olivia Palmbos (‘23) had three weeks of rehearsals to prepare the actors and put on the show.
Narrators Naya Loftus and Allen Hoover carry the audience through the tangled narrative: Girl (Gia Falcicchio-Wall) makes deals with an Enchantress (Svea von der Leith), the Devil (Nico Allen), and Rumplestiltskin (Addy England) to get a Prince (Jack Dunmire) and a daughter, Rapunzel (Celia Lyon), who pays the price. The Enchantress is the same one from Snow White (Jayla Fields)’s tale, who recasts and rewrites it, with the dwarves cast as Snow White (Evan Cohen) and the Magic Mirror (Benji Davidoff). The Devil’s Grandmother (Huck Amick) die, and in vengeance, curses God (Charlie Celkis) and the Doctor (Nolan Bloor) to become the dwarf. The Devil’s Grandmother used to be Cinderella (Kathryn Plotner), who is outraged when the Last Actor Standing (Leif Tenbrink) is the only one able to help tell her story.
“It’s a lot of responsibility,” said Wilder on directing, “but I’ve loved every second of it…I have little to no acting experience from which to draw on when directing their acting, which would be quite the challenge if it weren’t for my amazing stage managers. I chose [them] not just because they are my best friends and I knew we would work well together, but because they have the acting experience that I lack. They have both gone above and beyond to help with directorial duties such as leading rehearsals, making casting decisions, etc.”
Wilder also served as head of costuming since freshman year: “Costuming is a really big responsibility and a bit of an isolating job, and before my joining in freshman year, there had not been someone who did costuming for more than one show for at least four years. So, it may come as no surprise that upon my leaving, there is not a crewhead to take my place. However, I firmly believe that someone will step up next year as I did my freshman year.”
“I am perfectly happy to come back and lend a hand as needed,” continued Wilder. “Though I am sad to leave behind a community that has been so amazing to me throughout high school, I know that I will be back to see my brother’s productions for the next four years and that I will be close enough to stay friends with many of the underclassmen I am leaving behind. Besides, I’m excited for the next phase of my life. I know for a fact, though, that Skyline Theatre has been a hugely influential part of my life and I will never forget my time here nor all the friends I made.”
Pirates of Penzance: Upcoming Fall Musical
With early auditions for the upcoming fall show concluding June 2nd, unlike in recent years where auditions are held mid-September, Skyline Theater is preparing for a colorful rendition of the Gilbert and Sullivan comic opera The Pirates of Penzance.
“We’re hoping with the show already cast we’ll be able to get started with rehearsals more quickly in the fall and maximize rehearsal time. It also gives actors the opportunity to begin memorizing over the summer.
“Missing out on Freshman participation was my biggest worry when agreeing to early auditions,” said Brodie Brockie, “but we’re taking a lot of steps to try to avoid that. We had our board recruiting and passing out audition packets during Soar into Skyline. We’ve emailed middle school theater and choir teachers and asked them to pass on audition information to their students, and we’ll be putting audition info in the announcements of our feeder schools. Hopefully, that works and we get a good incoming Freshman turnout, but we may also wind up holding an additional ensemble audition in the fall, if needed.”
“It’s going to be a fast-paced, high-energy show,” Brockie concluded, “and I’m looking forward to what further ideas the casts’ skills inspire.”
