Greeley Theater Kicks Off Season With ‘The Pirates of Penzance’
Horace Greeley High School theater teacher Jonathan Gellart has directed about 250 musicals during his career.
But there was one show he’s wanted his young actors to experience that he has never had a chance to lead – until now.
This weekend the Horace Greeley Theater Department will present three performances of Gilbert & Sullivan’s “The Pirates of Penzance.” The opening performance is Thursday night at the high school auditorium at 7 p.m., weather permitting.
“It’s a blast, it’s so much fun and it’s a classic,” Gellart said. “Of course, as a teacher introducing this to the kids is really important.”
About 30 cast members, 10 student musicians and 10 crew members have worked under Gellart’s leadership to bring the show to the community. Another 20 students helped build the set, he said.
“The Pirates of Penzance” is the first show on a busy 2018-19 schedule for the school’s theater department. It will be followed by “The Rage of Achilles,” a take on the first book of “The Illiad,” “Noises Off” and “Our Town,” the annual spring play.
Gellart said he looks to choose productions that accentuates the students’ strengths as actors while providing a wide variety of theater experiences.
“In order to do something like ‘Pirates’ you really want to know you have the voices for it, and we do,” Gellart said on Wednesday afternoon before the last dress rehearsal.
Since the cast was selected following auditions that were held the second week of the school year, the students have been hard at work, rehearsing every day after school until about 5:30 p.m. In the past couple of weeks, Saturdays were added and the weekday rehearsals were extended to 6:30 p.m. On Wednesday, they were expected to stay until about 8 p.m.
Gellart said the most satisfying part of directing the students is watching them grow and gain confidence as the rehearsals progress. That has been true with ‘Pirates’ and he expects the same high-quality performances that the Greeley Theater Department has long been known for.
“When kids go off book that’s when they can start to relax and get into the play,” Gellart said. “It takes them a while to get it, but when they’re really not worrying about knowing the words that’s when they take off.”
The cast is led by El Cetinski (Frederic), Abby Gould (Mabel), Brady McCarthy (Samuel), Gavrie Elliott (Pirate King), Ellie Liebner (Ruth), Lily Restivo (Kate), Jordan Burrows (Edith), Jordan Ziegler (Isabel), David Koestler (Major-General) and Kyle McAfee (Sergeant).
Also in the cast are Kayla Gibbs, Julia Pecora, Olivia Snow and Morgan Ziegler as the daughters; Kyle Arazaga, David Katz, Halle Brickman, Sabrina Stratton and Dani Plotnick as the police and Emily Adler, Amy Dorfman, Jack Gustafson, Katie Holub, Matt Kornblau and Kyra Slive as the pirates.
The Thursday and Friday performances are scheduled for 7 p.m. while Saturday’s showtime is 8 p.m. Should inclement weather force the cancellation of Thursday’s show, it will be rescheduled for Saturday at 2 p.m.
Tickets are $15 for adults and $5 for children and students. They can be bought in advance at https://greeleytheater.tix.com/Schedule.aspx?OrgNum=5064 or at the door before each performance.
Martin has more than 30 years experience covering local news in Westchester and Putnam counties, including a frequent focus on zoning and planning issues. He has been editor-in-chief of The Examiner since its inception in 2007. Read more from Martin’s editor-author bio here. Read Martin’s archived work here: https://www.theexaminernews.com/author/martin-wilbur2007/