Cranberry Drama Club Preparing for Spring Musical “Big Fish” March 15-18

| March 2, 2018

SENECA, Pa. – The auditorium at Cranberry High School is brimming with a multitude of sounds.

Sets are being hammered and drilled. Actors are being directed and blocked on the stage. Musical numbers are being sung. Tap dancers are rehearsing choreography. Actors are running lines.

This flurry of activity and noise is the sound of Cranberry Drama Club preparing for this year’s spring musical, “Big Fish,” opening March 15-18.

Based on the best-selling novel by Daniel Wallace and the Tim Burton film, “Big Fish” tells the story of Edward Bloom, a husband, father, and traveling salesman who tells big (maybe too big) stories about his life.

“It’s a more mature story about the complex relationships between fathers and their sons — between families, actually. The show is definitely a more grown-up show than a Disney show or ‘Wizard of Oz.’ It’s definitely not a fairytale; it’s more like a tall tale or a heroic epic with interpersonal relationships interspersed. If we do our jobs right, there won’t be a dry eye in the house,” said Mr. Jason Kosmiski, Cranberry English teacher and musical production director.

This complexity is especially evident in music and lyrics of Andrew Lippa’s songs.

“Although fantastical characters abound in the show, the plot is much deeper than a simple fairy tale. It captures the struggles of obtaining and maintaining meaningful relationships. This is reflected in the lyrical composition of the show’s songs. In ‘Daffodils’ we see the lengths that Edward goes in order to propose to Sandra, and in Sandra’s beautiful song, ‘I Don’t Need a Roof,’ where she says that she will give up everything in order to have Edward stay with her,” said Mr. Preston Yoder, Cranberry choral teacher and “Big Fish’s” music director.

As music director, Yoder is responsible for coaching each lead to sing his or her solo songs with the emotion and heart required to impact the audience. He also prepares the ensemble to sing in the background on each full cast number and organizes and conducts the pit orchestra.

This year’s songs run the gamut of musical styles.

“You will hear several musical flavors through the show, ranging from the classic Broadway sound to a southern county/bluegrass twang, which is fitting since the story is set in Alabama,” said Yoder.

Through these meaningful but, infectious songs, spectacular stagecraft, and dazzling dance numbers, ‘Big Fish’ tells the larger-than-life story of Edward Bloom and his son, Will. Set against the backdrop of modern-day Alabama, the show explores the strained relationship between the two men. When Will suddenly finds out he is about to have a son of his own, he realizes that he doesn’t actually know his own father. He wants desperately to understand why Edward told all his stories, so he sets out to discover the real man behind the legend—and discovers that there may be more magic in his father than anyone ever realized.

The plot jumps between the present and Edward’s adventures in the past, where he kisses a mermaid, befriends a giant, and works for a werewolf at a circus.

So, what’s so attractive about this little-known musical based on an obscure 1998 book and a sort-of-famous 2003 Tim Burton film? What makes this the perfect show for Cranberry’s spring musical?

“It’s something different. After two years of doing shows everyone was familiar with, we felt like we needed to do something that nobody knew,” said Kosmiski.

Yoder agrees, “‘Big Fish’ is a show very different from anything we have done at Cranberry in the past few years.”

The drama club has previously featured well-known favorites like, “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown,” “The Wizard of Oz,” and “Disney’s Beauty and the Beast.”

“People know those shows. When they walk into the auditorium, they expect ‘Wizard of Oz’s’ scarecrow to be reproduced the same way Ray Bolger portrayed the character in the 1939 movie; they expect ‘Be Our Guest’ to sound exactly like the song in the 1991 ‘Beauty and the Beast’ cartoon. We did that. We want to dazzle our audience with something people don’t already know,” said Kosmiski.

After starring as the title character in last year’s production of “Beauty and the Beast,” Senior Rem Slater, returns to the CHS stage as the lead, Edward Bloom.

The show also features returning sophomores Michael Gunn (Will Bloom), Jenna Seigworth (Sandra Bloom), and Saige Slater (Josephine Bloom) and newcomers Colin Zerbe (Young Will), Danielle Peterson (Witch), Megan Heckathorne (Jenny Hill), Joe Gunn (Amos), Trey Wright (Karl), and Shary Harry (Don Price).

“We have a very talented group of kids, and we choose shows that let our kids showcase their talents, that play to their individual strengths. ‘Big Fish’ will be their chance to show folks exactly how talented they really are. Because there really is no way for them to ‘copy’ anyone’s previous performance, this show has really allowed us to actually direct the students. As a director, it’s really exciting. You get to coach the kids to act with some really strong emotion in order for them to create these larger than life characters that they have never seen before,” said Kosmiski.

In addition to Kosmiski and Yoder, the entire production crew from last year is back this year to put this complicated show together.

Ms. Heather Hondel, choreographer, has written some very complex dance routines for the show, including a full-blown tap number. She is responsible for writing dances for every major musical number that features the ensemble, plus the smaller group songs. Hondel is a 2017 Cranberry graduate and a freshman at Grove City College.

Mrs. Lori Hart, Cranberry English and art teacher and art director for the show, is currently building all the props and sets needed to bring Edward’s tall tales from page to stage. She manages a crew of dedicated art students working after school in whatever corner they can find space. Hart is responsible for making the audience believe it is visiting a southern swamp, under the big top at the circus, and the small village of Ashton, Alabama.

Mrs. Kathryn Yoder, costume designer, has been taking the cast’s measurements and hand making all the show’s color costumes, including the several costume changes required by the ensemble throughout the show. Yoder’s costumes will be integral to bringing the show’s mermaid, giant, and werewolf to life.

Mrs. Lori Vonada, Cranberry guidance counselor and business and publicity manager for the musical, is new to the production crew. She has been working hard printing posters, tickets, and designing the show’s program and cast T-shirt. She will also manage this year’s ticketing and oversee ticket presales.

In just a few short weeks, all the pieces of this elaborate puzzle with come together. Set designers, stage crew, technicians, singers, dancer, actors and musicians will all assemble to act out this strange concoction of tall tale, family drama, and musical.

Meanwhile, the Cranberry Drama Club continues to fill the auditorium with a cacophony of noise, hoping that its preparations will instill all of the humor and emotion found in “Big Fish’s” story into the audience’s hearts.

“The past two years we’ve made our audience laugh, this year, we want to make them cry,” said Kosmiski.

“Big Fish” will run March 15, 16, and 17 at 7:00 p.m. A Sunday Matinee will also be held on March 18 at 2:00 p.m.

Tickets are $8.00 for Adults and $4.00 for children (Under 12). Presale tickets will be available Monday through Friday at the Cranberry High School school store before 7:44 a.m., during lunch, and during activity period beginning March 5th.

Article submitted by Jason Kosmiski.


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