‘Wake Up, Secret Theatre We Have A Show Tonite’

Over 50 Newtown Middle School students took part in the musical review program entitled Wake Up, Secret Theatre We Have a Show Tonite! It was a successful production of children’s numbers from several Broadway musicals.

The middle school cast of over 50 students lit up with stage with energy and excitement during three performances over the weekend displaying their musical talent and acting skills for the audience.

The students were directed by middle school teachers Jonathan Bauer and Susan Lang through a variety of songs from Broadway shows including Annie, The Secret Garden, Gypsy, You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown, Les Miserables, Snoopy, The Music Man, Fiddler of the Roof, Cinderella, and Oliver. A verity of group numbers and solos were performed by the middle school students.

Cast members included Jeff Levasseur, Karoline Engel, Sarah Copeland, Kate Sullivan, Scott Suhoza as The Kids; and The Secret Theatre Company members are Paul Ashey, Erik Bagger, Evan Barbour, Max Barrett, Melanie Beck, Briana Berg, Kathryn Black, Emily Blewett, Jessica Braun, Ethan Breitling, Derek Calderara, Adam Calderone, Robin Collins, Jenny Cupero, Kat Danziger, Kendal Deakin, Jessica Duch, Patrick Dunseith, Lauren Egdahl, Amber Finlayson, Jocelyn Gaudett, Elsa Gillis, Megan Groves, Vanessa Hansen, Dana Happel, Alex Hennessey, Danielle Iodice, Will Jacob, Jackie Kerin, Caitlin Kimball, Kayla Koschel, Tory Marlin, Keilly McQuail, Samantha Mitchell, Blair Moore, Marisa Muraskiewicz, Caitlin O’Connell, Sarah Parker, Scott Perry, Stephen Petrovich, Diana Rawson, Jessica Remitz, Ben Roche, Nicole Sieber, Kimberly Solheim, Corey Stokes, Jenny Urfer, Tyler Von Oy, Henry Washburn, and Kaitlyn Wood.

The cast sang 20 different songs for the audience. Some of the songs included “Little Lamb,” “Sixteen Going On Seventeen,” “Tomorrow,” “Suppertime,” “Gary Indiana,” “Hard Knock Life,” “Matchmaker,” “Poor Sweet Baby,” “Never Fully Dressed,” “Don’t Be Anything Less,” and “So Long, Farewell.”

Karen Beierle provided additional choreography to the cast members.

High school students Sarah Kaechele and Sasha Mastrocinque were the stage managers for the performance. Assistant stage managers were Emily Koh, Stephanie Nordstrom, and Lauren Reed. Leif Smith was head of lighting.

The crew also did a great job with organizing the stage for each act and lighting the actors and the stage throughout the performance. Stage crew members included Lauren Babbage, Lindsay Beck, Amanda Chontos, Katie DeSimone, Ashley Gillespie, Bobby Grauer, Aileen Kerns, Mark Laslo, Tara Meehan, Farley Miller, Colin O’Conner, Marcus Schulz, Carol Ann Smith, Maegen Tannenbaum, Tricia Reed, Brian Tenney, Dave Wilkins, and Heather Wilson.

Special thanks to Mrs Blewett for helping the cast with sign language; Mrs Van Oy for the T-shirts and cookies; and Ashley Gillespie for the design for the shirts worn during the performance.