By CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff
LINWOOD — The MRHS Drama Club will present its first production since fall 2019 when the teen thespians take the stage Friday, May 21, to perform “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.”
The comedy musical, with lyrics by Tim Rice and music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, is based on a story in the Bible’s Book of Genesis.
The story follows Joseph, the favored son of Jacob, who is given a special robe, eliciting the jealousy and betrayal of his 11 brothers. They perceive the gift as an indication that Joseph will take leadership of the family, so they plot to kill him
But Joseph not only survives but thrives. Sold into slavery, he is taken to Egypt, where he’s beset with adversity. He perseveres through wit and faith and becomes the governor, second only to the Pharaoh.
Joseph and his brothers are reunited when they travel to Egypt to purchase food.
“It’s a super fun show. It’s definitely different than what you’d imagine on Broadway. It’s very quirky. It’s definitely old-fashioned with what it’s about but at the same time it’s new. It has a lot of different styles of music. It’s definitely a wild ride,” said Tai Schiavo, a senior from Longport.
Pandemic takes its toll
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has affected both the production and the school’s theater program in general.
The Drama Club was on the verge of performing “Mama Mia” last spring when Gov. Phil Murphy announced a statewide two-week shutdown that, of course, turned out be much longer, keeping students out of school for the remainder of the year.
Mainland Regional High School began its school year with a hybrid instructional model under continued state restrictions, preventing the club from producing a fall play in 2020.
With students still on hybrid instruction until mid-April, and uncertainty about whether the musical would even be permitted, artistic director Becky Sannino said accommodations had to be made. She said the show is shorter than usual due to limited preparation time.
“When the OK was given to work together on a musical, we knew we had less than two months to put all elements of this comic rock opera together,” she said.
Sannino and Amy Melson, the production’s business manager and vocal director, said the short rehearsal time was not crippling, especially given that more can always be done.
“You could give us more and more time and we would find reasons to not be ready,” Melson said.
Sannino said they are restricted to one cast instead of two. Students are not allowed to share microphones and have been wearing masks during rehearsals. It still was unclear as of last week whether they would be able to perform maskless.
Aside from the inability to hold two of the annual productions — those hoping to participating all four years lost 25 percent — the cast members lost valuable time practicing and bonding with fellow performers.
Many of the students also take part in the New Jersey Drama and Forensic League, which was held virtually this year.
Sannino said the cast was enjoying getting back into action.
“Some have mentioned that they feel like rehearsals are a physical workout for them this year,” she said. “Along with the dancers and the ensemble, they need to move from scene to scene, singing, acting, dancing to a variety of dance styles and musical genres.”
Sannino said the show “really never stops, except for a short intermission.”
The process also has been affected by COVID-related absences due to sickness or close contact with someone who is sick.
“We come in very optimistic some days and then try to get it together when we realize four of our main people are missing. We have to regroup and figure out what to do instead,” Sannino said.
“Even if it’s not here in our little bubble, it affects our bubble until they get cleared,” Melson said.
Rachel Lischin, a senior from Northfield, said adversity has brought out the best in everyone.
“I think that the cast has really stepped up to the challenge,” Lischin said. “The cast is so tight-knit that we’re really doing well with when people miss, have to be out for quarantining, that they can come back and get caught up right away because everyone is so supportive.”
The biggest obstacle to the production was not COVID-related; Melson said it was difficult getting the copyright.
“Because we didn’t get to put on a show last year, the Board of Education wanted to make sure the show goes on. So not only did we have to get rights to the show but we had to get rights to stream the show so that if we got shut down you would still have something to be able to stream at home. So now we have both in-person and streaming, which is a fully new component for all of us,” she said.
Everyone is excited to finally produce a show, something that was missing for the past year.
“The audience will see a group of teenagers hungry to do a show, especially since their last musical was stopped short of opening night due to COVID restrictions and a fall play was not allowed due to state restrictions,” Sannino said.
Joseph is being played by Joshua Darragh, a senior from Egg Harbor Township.
“Josh has played other main roles at Mainland. He is well-suited for and able to play the role of Joseph,” Sannino said. “I like his vulnerability and pleasant nature in this lead role.”
Darragh said getting to perform is “definitely a blessing” and “a lot more work than I thought it would be,” but he was happy to get back to something he loves doing.
“I’m really looking forward to the shows. The fact that we’re able to do something — it’s been like 10 months since we’ve last done anything — that’s good in and of itself,” Darragh said. “Even if it is kind of limited, it is something and I am going to take that for what it is.”
He said his favorite part is the two weeks leading up to the show.
“It’s when everything starts piecing together and you kind of see what the show is in its entirety and you get to marvel at it,” Darragh said.
Sannino said the role of Narrator has been divided into three parts, with \Lischin, Ella Osbeck and Helene Tjoumakaris “connecting the story for the audience.”
“They are currently working hard to feel the many emotional changes in each role,” she said, adding that all three have won multiple awards during their high school careers, including in the New Jersey Drama and Forensics League and this year’s Governor’s Award through the International Thespian Society.
“Mask or no mask, they are practicing continually in order to bring the show to life,” Sannino said.
Tjoumakaris, the MRHS Drama Club president, said it’s been a hard year for the budding actors and actresses.
“I think more than anything we’re just grateful to be all together again after a year of not being together. It’s definitely a blessing we don’t take for granted at all,” the senior from Linwood said.
But she said the loss of productions has taken a toll on those hoping to pursue musical theater as a career.
“Having a year off from being able to be in productions has definitely set them back,” Tjoumakaris said. “Taking that into consideration, everyone is working really hard to be able to make up for that.”
She said the students lost more than the productions, noting the rehearsal time leading up to the show is vital in their development.
“As a senior, I always thought that I would do all eight shows here, so to have missed out on a musical and a play was really upsetting,” she said, noting she is not pursuing theater as a career “so these were my last chances to be able to do something like that. It was definitely upsetting but we are grateful to have this show this year.”
While not the stars of the production, the 11 Brothers are an important part of telling the story, Sannino said, and some are featured individually.
She said Sarah Pace, a senior from Somers Point who plays Judah, leads the group in singing “The Benjamin Calypso;” Schiavo solos in “One More Angel;” and Matthew Whitcomb, a senior from Linwood, is the feature singer in “Canaan Days.”
Pace said her solo is about Benjamin, another of the brothers, being unjustly accused of stealing a golden cup.
“Judah and Benjamin are very close. I don’t want to see him going to jail for something that he didn’t do so I stand up for him,” Pace said.
She added that students were not even attending school full time when rehearsals started and she was far less than confident that the show would go on as planned.
“Now that it’s actually happening it is a great end to our senior year,” Pace said.
Schiavo, who plays Reuben, took all of the difficulties in stride.
“It’s definitely different than preparing normally,” Schiavo said. “We have run into more obstacles than we normally would — not only with masks and things but just realities of where we can be on stage, where we can be next to each other — but it’s just a few more hoops to jump through.”
Linwood senior Jared Pisetzner, whose twin Daniel also is one of the brothers, displays his penchant for comic acting and singing in the role of Potiphar, Sannino said.
“Along with the 11 Brothers, Michael Liederman is also fun to watch/hear as he does his Elvis imitation in the singing/acting role of Pharoah,” she added.
Stephanie Maehr, 22, a 2021 graduate of Stockton University, is the stage manager and Maddy Falk, a senior from Linwood who will be attending Carnegie Mellon University in the fall to study engineering, is the student stage manager.
The audience should expect to see “the iconic musical, which has been around for over 50 years,” Sannino said.
The shows are scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday, May 21, and Saturday, May 22, and 2 p.m. Sunday, May 23.
General admission tickets are $15 and streaming tickets are $25.