Theater Ensemble musical opens Friday for three-performance run

Two student actors exchange words during dress rehearsal

Opening night for “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” is this Friday!

The Albany High School Theater Ensemble will present three performances of the musical Friday, March 8 and Saturday, March 9 at 6:30 p.m., with a Sunday matinee at 2 p.m. on March 10. All shows are in the school auditorium.

Tickets are available at the door for $15 each for general admission, with student and senior tickets at $5 each. Cash only, please.

The play features audience participation, and you can sign up outside the auditorium before each performance. Please note that some of the show’s content may not be suitable for young children.

You also can check out this interview with two of the lead performers, juniors Nina Scandurra and Iris Whalen.

Want to help? You can donate a baked good, snack or bottled water to be sold at the concession stand. If the goodies are homemade, please include a list of ingredients. You can drop them off by Thursday in the main office.

Cast

  • Rona – Gelissa Phillips
  • Panch – Declan Chirlin
  • Olive – Iris Whalen
  • Barfee – William O’Neill
  • Marcy – Nina Scandurra
  • Mitch – Rey Rodriguez
  • Chip – Ray Blanken
  • Logainne – Azia Sky Barao
  • Leaf – Ian Roach
  • Carl Dad – Julian Shepersky

Staff

  • Director/choreographer/set designer – Brian Avery
  • Producers – Rose Biggerstaff and Amanda Weklar
  • Musical director – Brendan Hoffman
  • Orchestra director – John Halvorsen
  • Tech director/light design – Jahmere Holland
  • Costume design – Kim DeHart and Allison McArdle Avery
  • Hair and make-up design – LaQuita Love
  • Sound design – Kyle Albano
  • Rehearsal accompanist – William DeSantis
  • House manager – Cheyenne Adams

Student crew

  • Stage manager – Katherine Myers
  • Assistant stage managers – Karly Grant and Anadi Sarkar
  • Student choreographer – Nina Scandurra
  • Props – Alex Steuer and Jo Wunderlich
  • Light op – Meski Kelle
  • Stage crew – Robert Berry and J'Anni Elfridge
  • Spotlight ops – Nathaniel Wheeler and Nicholas Caesar
  • Costumes – Abigail Fowler, Kaddisha Findley, Rebecca Pender, Tasmia Athoi, Lucinda Hiles
  • Costumes/hair – Camden Allen
  • Hair/makeup – Celine Casasola
  • Sound ops – Kierra Okine, Jakob Kuhn, Kaylan Watts
  • Public relations – Shanyah McNeil
  • Sound – Ashanty Fernandez
  • Crew – Shaelynn Sobolewski

Pit orchestra

  • Flute/oboe – Tessa Weklar
  • Flutes – Renee Geraghty, Jonah Bouget, Cameron Volk, Margaret MacCallum, Juliana Blake
  • Violin – Gideon Rosenthal
  • Cello – Emmett MacCallum, Sonja De Piro
  • Clarinet – Rowan Hoehn
  • Trumpet – Andrew Eck, Sydney Blanken, Caleb Goldstein, Andrew Fish
  • Alto sax – Nora Gordon
  • Saxophone –Danica Fish
  • Bass – Trent Minarich
  • Synthesizer – Kailas Bouget
  • Tubas – Andre Speller and Julio Davis
  • Trombones – Masami Surisawa, Anna Baldes, Freddy Lizardo
  • Percussion – Isabelle Scandurra, Angeline Thompson, Emilio Davis, Nevaeh Pryall Best
  • Thompson, Emilio Davis, Nevaeh Pryall Best