PLAY REVIEW:
HELLO DOLLY
IS A HIT
In March, Saddle Brook Middle/High School students put on a fantastic performance of the play Hello Dolly, directed by Mr. Frank Ortega. Adding to the show’s success was Mr. Malcolm Couden who served as vocal coach and choreographer Randy Accardi. Caelen Mahoney had a fantastic run of performances starring in the title role. Her success was undeniable and the whole community wishes her continued triumphs as she pursues a career in musical theater performance moving forward.
Saddle Brook students from the middle, high school, and even elementary schools, put on the performances from March 11 to March 13. The play deals with a matchmaker who travels throughout New York City trying to set people up and embarks on a journey to set up a millionaire with a match.
The play opened to a wonderful reception during the evening performances on Friday and Saturday while making history during Sunday’s matinee performance. It was reported that Sunday sold out all seats during this performance and ticket agents had to turn people away, the show was so crowded. This had been the first time since 1987 that a performance had been fully sold out and booked in Saddle Brook’s history.
Senior Thomas Wojcik, who played the role of Cornelius Hackl, reflected on his final performance of his high school career.
“Having been part of this program for 6 years has taught me a lot about responsibility and teamwork but mostly leadership,” said Wojcik.
Adding, “In the sense that it takes a lot of work from a lot of people to make a production like this happen and it falls on the veterans to lead younger players to have the same passion that you’ve had for the last 6 years.”
Thomas Wojcik expressed joy and comfort in knowing that future generations will continue the hard work of acting in the play.
“For the foreseeable future, this program is going to be in good hands with Mr. Ortega and Mr. Couden, and specially with the incredibly talented underclassmen we have coming up,” he said.
When asked what it was like to put on a performance after having had to practice virtually last year, Wojcik said, “It was a breath of fresh air [to perform in front of a full crowd once again] but difficult to get back into the groove. Difficult to get back into the groove because in the past, with Xanadu for example, you had so much time to perfect everything. This year had to hit the ground running!”
By: Falcon Flyer Staff