BIG BOLD NOTE: The show dates are Thursday November 10th, Saturday
November 12th, Friday November 18th, and Saturday November 19th at 8pm,
as well as on Sunday November 13th and 20th at 2pm. Tickets ARE OFFICIALLY ON SALE NOW. Pricing information, as well as tickets for our
fundraiser party at Nocello's on October 23rd and other information, can
be found here at our theatre's website.
Blog #4: That Blog Over There Is Love
Written by: Justin Murphy
Date of Rehearsals Written: 10/17, 10/18, and 10/20
Location: Northport-East Northport Community Theatre
Welcome back to our fourth blog of NCT's upcoming production of Miracle on 34th Street, which opens now in...20 days?! That's not even three weeks anymore! AAAAAAAAAAH!
The first rehearsal this week featured everyone who had speaking parts in act 1 at the moment. Little additional things were added to certain scenes. However, Donna was unavailable for the evening, so no songs were worked on. Almost every scene in act 1 was worked on, minus some scenes that had actors missing, as well as some parts of the show that had yet to be cast. Plus, a few ticket orders were filled out, as this rehearsal was the first one where tickets were now officially on sale.
The second rehearsal this week was similar to the first except that it was now everyone who had speaking parts in act 2. Other actors were plugged into the courtroom scenes, including Noel Dillon as Tammany (for half of the shows) and James Roche as the Bailiff. Jim also blocked a lot of the courtroom scenes during this rehearsal, adding plenty of comedic moments to the courtroom scenes, especially during Mr. Macy's song number in the courtroom. Donna was available for this rehearsal, so we worked on some songs this evening, such as the aforementioned "That Man Over There". I don't dare spoil how the song ends, but it's a pretty darn funny moment (and a darn good song).
The third rehearsal this week only involved Fred, Doris, and Suzie, so I couldn't cover it. (It was originally planned to be a choreography rehearsal for the full cast, but this was changed, presumably either because they needed the night for scene work or because the choreographer wasn't available, however, there will be a choreography rehearsal this upcoming week). However, the fourth and final rehearsal this week involved the entire cast. One scene was focused on during this night, the "title"* song of the show: Here's Love, as well as the scene surrounding it. First we rehearsed the song a bit, as it had been a little while since we had worked on the song. Then we worked on stage in shifts. First the adults were plugged into the scene before the song starts (as well as during the song). A few shopper lines were also handed to some of the cast members, with a bit of Jim's trademark comedic timing thrown in regarding how some of the lines would be delivered. Then the kids were blocked into separate sections of the song, along with the adults (with the exception of the Suzies, who spent their time working on their scenes separately for most of the night, then were plugged into the scene later). The number still isn't finished (as our choreographer won't be able to work on the scene until next week), but it looks fantastic so far, and it's only going to get better!
A few other things happened during this week. Our costumer, Courtney, was here this evening and working a lot with people again, helping them figure out what costumes to buy and what she would need for people to rent. In addition, I was informed by Donna and by our producer Bette, that we would be working next week on the only as-of-yet untouched scene in Act Two: Scene 3, the scene with the song number "We Got Trou-I MEAN, "She Hadda Go Back"**. The song number is performed by Fred and his three marine buddies, who were now officially cast and would be played by Rich Lau (Mr. Macy), John Morale (Mr. Gimbel), and...I don't remember his name, but that loser who's playing the D.A.
Next week will be a very long and eventful one. There will be four rehearsals during the week, three of which will be covered here, as well as our big all-day rehearsal next Saturday and our Barnes & Noble event on Sunday, the 30th! Once again, this upcoming Sunday, the 23rd, is NCT's 15th anniversary Celebration/Halloween Party at Nocello's at 5 pm. Seats are still available and Donna will be there for anyone who wants to sing something (and especially for those who want to sing an opposite gender song, which I totally will be taking part in. What am I singing?...You'll have to come to the party to find out!) Tickets are on sale and we're less than 3 weeks away, order your tickets now to see it!
"I don't get it...no...I just don't get it." - Movie equivalent of Mrs. Finfer
*: The original title of the musical of "Miracle on 34th Street" was "Here's Love". Again, you say that's crazy? Well maybe it's only a little crazy like painters or composers or some of those men in Washington.
**: The song "She Hadda Go Back" has a similar feel to "We Got Trouble" from "The Music Man", which was also written by Meredith Wilson.
CAST LIST (NEWLY CAST ROLES ARE LISTED IN BOLD PRINT)
NOTE: As of October 20th, Meaghan Maher has withdrawn from the production. We wish her the best in all of her future endeavors.
Kris Kringle: Lawrence Palevsky
Doris Walker: Chelsea Brown
Susan Walker: Annabelle Deaner/Grace Sewell
Fred Gailey: James Reiss/Dave Curtis
Mr. Marvin Shellhammer: Justin Autz
Mr. R.H. Macy: Rich Lau
Judge Meredith*** Group/Troubled Type 2: Suzie Lustig
D.A. Thomas Mara/Steven the Balloon Vendor: Why can't I for the life of me remember this guy's name?!
Tammany O'Halloran/Glass Lady: Patsy Van Dyke
Tammany O'Halloran/Ford Clerk: Noel Dillon
Mrs. Sawyer/Troubled Type: Kathy Lau
Miss Crookshank: Samantha Schoeps
Hendrika: Lily Eagen/Carlie Rees
Hendrika's Foster Mother: Judy Avena/Barbara Schulman
Harry Finfer: Jude Centamore/Michael Deaner
Mrs. Finfer: Michelle Centamore/Elise Autz
Thomas Mara Junior: Jacob Karp/Kieran Brown
Mr. Gimbel/Man Shopper: John Morale
Mary (had a little lamb)/The Mayor of New York City: Joel Ackerman
Inebriated Santa Claus/Yankees Clerk: Rich Rowehl
Hat Thieving Kid: Andrew Geres
Majorettes: Alyssa Infranco and Riley Gayer
The Governor of New York: Joe Centamore
Clara: Tess Robinson
Bailiff: "Montauk" James Roche
Young Women Shoppers: Katlyn Reller/Jillian Graci
Woman Shopper: Kate Smith
Alvin, Whitey, and Climber: John Morale, Rich Lau, and whoever's playing the D.A. (NOTE: THESE ROLES ARE CAST, BUT WHO IS PLAYING WHICH PART HAS NOT YET BEEN DETERMINED)
The following Roles as of yet are not cast (or are cast and I have yet to confirm who is cast as them)
***: The original name of the character is Judge Martin Group. When the role was cast as a female, the name was changed, at the actress's request, to Meredith, as a tip of the hat to Meredith Wilson.
Miss Sims, a nurse
Murphy, a night watchman
Man Shopper and his Wife
Two Policemen
Mailman
Tall Dame Girl Scout
Mrs. Beeler, the housekeeper
Marines, Parade Spectators, and Christmas Shoppers
Toy Ballet Sequence Characters
THE FOLLOWING CAST MEMBERS HAVE YET TO BE GIVEN A SPECIFIC PART AS OF 10/21/16 (Or they have and I don't know if they've been given a part yet)
Boys
Owen LaBruna
Anthony Shah
Nathan Zarko
Women
Kellsey Roy
Linda Scott
Girls
Julie Barbier
Juliette Bonchonsky
Maya Burget
Goldie Centamore
Bella Donneruno
Maggie Fitzmaurice
Jennifer Golder
Quincy Jackson
Arianna Keating
Grace Keating
Amelia Lau
Juliet Morale
Grace Rowan
Ashley Rowehl
Amelia Semple
Emily Shah
Ella Smith
Emily Starin
Clare Vogt
Fallon Young
Lacey Zaharis
Friday, October 21, 2016
Sunday, October 16, 2016
Blog #3: Costumes, Castings, and Court Cases
BIG BOLD NOTE: The show dates are Thursday November 10th, Saturday
November 12th, Friday November 18th, and Saturday November 19th at 8pm,
as well as on Sunday November 13th and 20th at 2pm. Tickets are not on
sale at the moment but WILL OFFICIALLY BE AVAILABLE STARTING TOMORROW, OCTOBER 17th. Pricing information, as well as tickets for our
fundraiser party at Nocello's on October 23rd and other information, can
be found here at our theatre's website.
Blog #3: Costumes, Castings, and Court Cases
Written by: Justin Murphy
Date of Rehearsals Written: 10/11 and 10/13
Location: Northport-East Northport Community Theatre
FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS I HAVE LAID DORMANT. WHO HAS DISTURBED MY-Oh wait, it's only been a week between blogs. Neat. Wait, how long is it til we open? 25 days?! Yeesh, this show seems to be approaching really quickly.
This was a different type of rehearsal week. For one thing, there were once again only two rehearsals the entire week thanks to the Columbus Day and Yom Kippur holidays. However, there was no going over or reviewing songs this week as our musical director, Donna Gorelick, was out this week visiting her daughter in Florida. Instead, most of the things done were scene work. On Tuesday, the full cast was called in so that we could get our costume situations settled. One by one, the entire cast filed out into the front hallway to meet with our new lead costumer, Courtney Hotis, while we would either pay her the costume fee and discuss what sorts of outfits we could wear with our characters (those of us who had named characters at this point) and the time period, or show her our costumes or costume ideas if we would not be renting from her for this show.
Most people were free to leave after meeting with Courtney, as Jim would not be working on scenes with everyone this evening, but would focus on a few scenes that either weren't worked on yet, or scenes that had been worked on and needed certain characters added to them. Jim spent a bit of time working on a scene that he had already worked on with Mrs. Walker (Chelsea Brown) and Mr. Shellhammer (Justin Autz), the latter of whom was unavailable for the evening. He added Mr. Macy (Rich Lau) to the scene, as he had not been able to previously work on the scene when it was first gone through. During this time, Avery Infranco whisked away both Fred Gaily (Dave Curtis and James Reiss) and Suzie Walker (Grace Sewell and Annabelle Deaner), so they could work on some act 1 scenes that they would share alone).
Jim also planned to work on the final scene in Act 1, featuring a bunch of characters, some of which were newly cast such as the Governor (Joe Centamore) and the Mayor (Joel Ackerman). I assume this scene was still worked on, but cannot confirm as after settling my costume issue and helping our tech director Rob Miller and a bunch of other people unload his van with set pieces and clothes, I departed as I was unneeded for scene work for the evening. Speaking of which, quite a lot of clothing was moved in from NCT's storage house for the show, as well as a few racks and one very snazzy looking cart which would be used by the balloon vendor during the show (if only I could remember who was playing the balloon vendor).
On Thursday, the plan was to go through the majority of scenes in act 2. When the cast arrived, Mrs. Walker and one of the Freds (James) were already there working on the scene between their characters that takes place in act 1, with the exception of the song at the end of the scene. When they were finished, it was decided to banish James to the far reaches of the universe for the next week or so (ok, he's actually going on a cruise, which I assume is much nicer than the far reaches of the universe). When this concluded, the cast went to work on their scenes in act 2 (specifically all scenes except for scenes 3 and 8). However, the scenes were not worked on in order. It was decided to first do the scenes with the kid characters in them so they wouldn't have to hang around too long waiting.
The first scene we did was scene 7, which features Fred (Dave), Kris Kringle (Lawrence Palevsky), the Judge (Suzie Lustig), the D.A. (I have no idea), the D.A.'s son (Jacob Karp and Kieran Brown), and the newly cast character of the Judge's political advisor, Tammany O'Halloran, played by NCT newcomer Patsy Van Dyke. (NOTE: During a walk for epilepsy that some NCT cast and crew members attended on Saturday the 15th, I was informed that Patsy would not be able to make every date for the show, and so the part of Tammany would be double cast between her and longtime cast member Noel Dillon. In addition, the role of the bailiff would be played by James Roche.) With the exception of Fred and Kris, this would be the first time that all of these cast members would actually be performing as their characters at a rehearsal. So, little little we began to discover who our characters are, through a combination of Jim's direction and vision, and our own deliveries.
The next scene we worked on was scene 2, involving only Kris Kringle, Suzie (or one of them, as Annabelle Deaner was unavailable for the evening, so only Grace Sewell worked on this scene), and a secretary named Miss Simms, who to my knowledge is uncast yet (though I could be wrong). After this scene was concluded and the children were no longer required for scene work, we went through the rest of the scenes, including Scene 1, which included Fred, the Judge, the D.A., Mrs. Walker, Tammany, and a secretary named Clara, who would be played by (the unavailable this evening) Tess Robinson. Once again, our characters and scene work became more fleshed out as we felt these new characters onstage for the first time. It showed even further through our work on the (rather short) scene 4 and scene 5, which included all the aforementioned characters in Scene 1 (except Clara), and also added Mr. Shellhammer (who was also unavailable this evening, I believe due to helping out backstage with another production this week) and Mr. Macy. While we were unable to work on the two songs in Scene 5 due to our absentee pianist, we were still able to do a lot of work on the scenes themselves. The last scene to work on was scene 6, which I'm sure was productive, but I didn't see it for myself, as my character was not in the scene and as such, I was unneeded for the rest of the evening.
This next week will have four different rehearsals, three of which I will be present for. We're getting closer by the day, but the show is further and further becoming glued together. Also, this upcoming Sunday, the 23rd, is NCT's 15th anniversary Celebration/Halloween Party at Nocello's at 5 pm. Seats are still available and Donna will be there for anyone who wants to sing something (and especially for those who want to sing an opposite gender song). You won't wanna miss it!
"I said that Calvin Coolidge was the first president, I can only imagine what they're thinking of me for that." -Kris Kringle
CAST LIST (NEWLY CAST MEMBERS ARE LISTED IN BOLD PRINT)
NOTE: As of October 16th, Caitlin Rees has withdrawn from the production. We wish her the best in all of her future endeavors.
Kris Kringle: Lawrence Palevsky
Doris Walker: Chelsea Brown
Susan Walker: Annabelle Deaner/Grace Sewell
Fred Gailey: James Reiss/Dave Curtis
Mr. Marvin Shellhammer: Justin Autz
Mr. R.H. Macy: Rich Lau
Judge Group: Suzie Lustig
D.A. Thomas Mara/Steven the Balloon Vendor: ...Thomas Stevens, maybe? Steven Mara?...Hmm...
Tammany O'Halloran: Patsy Van Dyke/Noel Dillon
Mrs. Sawyer: Kathy Lau
Miss Crookshank: Samantha Schoeps
Hendrika: Lily Eagen/Carlie Rees
Hendrika's Foster Mother: Judy Avena/Barbara Schulman
Harry Finfer: Jude Centamore/Michael Deaner
Mrs. Finfer: Michelle Centamore/Elise Autz
Thomas Mara Junior: Jacob Karp/Kieran Brown
Mr. Gimbel: John Morale
Mary (had a little lamb)/The Mayor of New York City: Joel Ackerman
Inebriated Santa Claus: Rich Rowehl
Hat Thieving Kid: Andrew Geres
Majorettes: Alyssa Infranco and Riley Gayer
The Governor of New York: Joe Centamore
Clara: Tess Robinson
Bailiff: James Roche
The following Roles as of yet are not cast (or are cast and I have yet to confirm who is cast as them)
Alvin, Whitey, and Climber, Marine friends of Fred's
Miss Sims, a nurse
Murphy, a night watchman
Lady Shopper
Man Shopper and his Wife
Young Woman Shopper
Clerk in Toy Department
Troubled Shopper
Two Policemen
Mailman
Tall Dame Girl Scout
Mrs. Beeler, the housekeeper
Marines, Parade Spectators, and Christmas Shoppers
Toy Ballet Sequence Characters
THE FOLLOWING CAST MEMBERS HAVE YET TO BE GIVEN A SPECIFIC PART AS OF 10/16/16 (Or they have and I don't know if they've been given a part yet)
Boys
Owen LaBruna
Anthony Shah
Nathan Zarko
Women
Jillian Graci
Katlyn Reller
Kellsey Roy
Linda Scott
Kate Smith
Girls
Julie Barbier
Juliette Bonchonsky
Maya Burget
Goldie Centamore
Bella Donneruno
Maggie Fitzmaurice
Jennifer Golder
Quincy Jackson
Arianna Keating
Grace Keating
Amelia Lau
Meaghan Maher
Juliet Morale
Grace Rowan
Ashley Rowehl
Amelia Semple
Emily Shah
Ella Smith
Emily Starin
Clare Vogt
Fallon Young
Lacey Zaharis
Blog #3: Costumes, Castings, and Court Cases
Written by: Justin Murphy
Date of Rehearsals Written: 10/11 and 10/13
Location: Northport-East Northport Community Theatre
FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS I HAVE LAID DORMANT. WHO HAS DISTURBED MY-Oh wait, it's only been a week between blogs. Neat. Wait, how long is it til we open? 25 days?! Yeesh, this show seems to be approaching really quickly.
This was a different type of rehearsal week. For one thing, there were once again only two rehearsals the entire week thanks to the Columbus Day and Yom Kippur holidays. However, there was no going over or reviewing songs this week as our musical director, Donna Gorelick, was out this week visiting her daughter in Florida. Instead, most of the things done were scene work. On Tuesday, the full cast was called in so that we could get our costume situations settled. One by one, the entire cast filed out into the front hallway to meet with our new lead costumer, Courtney Hotis, while we would either pay her the costume fee and discuss what sorts of outfits we could wear with our characters (those of us who had named characters at this point) and the time period, or show her our costumes or costume ideas if we would not be renting from her for this show.
Most people were free to leave after meeting with Courtney, as Jim would not be working on scenes with everyone this evening, but would focus on a few scenes that either weren't worked on yet, or scenes that had been worked on and needed certain characters added to them. Jim spent a bit of time working on a scene that he had already worked on with Mrs. Walker (Chelsea Brown) and Mr. Shellhammer (Justin Autz), the latter of whom was unavailable for the evening. He added Mr. Macy (Rich Lau) to the scene, as he had not been able to previously work on the scene when it was first gone through. During this time, Avery Infranco whisked away both Fred Gaily (Dave Curtis and James Reiss) and Suzie Walker (Grace Sewell and Annabelle Deaner), so they could work on some act 1 scenes that they would share alone).
Jim also planned to work on the final scene in Act 1, featuring a bunch of characters, some of which were newly cast such as the Governor (Joe Centamore) and the Mayor (Joel Ackerman). I assume this scene was still worked on, but cannot confirm as after settling my costume issue and helping our tech director Rob Miller and a bunch of other people unload his van with set pieces and clothes, I departed as I was unneeded for scene work for the evening. Speaking of which, quite a lot of clothing was moved in from NCT's storage house for the show, as well as a few racks and one very snazzy looking cart which would be used by the balloon vendor during the show (if only I could remember who was playing the balloon vendor).
On Thursday, the plan was to go through the majority of scenes in act 2. When the cast arrived, Mrs. Walker and one of the Freds (James) were already there working on the scene between their characters that takes place in act 1, with the exception of the song at the end of the scene. When they were finished, it was decided to banish James to the far reaches of the universe for the next week or so (ok, he's actually going on a cruise, which I assume is much nicer than the far reaches of the universe). When this concluded, the cast went to work on their scenes in act 2 (specifically all scenes except for scenes 3 and 8). However, the scenes were not worked on in order. It was decided to first do the scenes with the kid characters in them so they wouldn't have to hang around too long waiting.
The first scene we did was scene 7, which features Fred (Dave), Kris Kringle (Lawrence Palevsky), the Judge (Suzie Lustig), the D.A. (I have no idea), the D.A.'s son (Jacob Karp and Kieran Brown), and the newly cast character of the Judge's political advisor, Tammany O'Halloran, played by NCT newcomer Patsy Van Dyke. (NOTE: During a walk for epilepsy that some NCT cast and crew members attended on Saturday the 15th, I was informed that Patsy would not be able to make every date for the show, and so the part of Tammany would be double cast between her and longtime cast member Noel Dillon. In addition, the role of the bailiff would be played by James Roche.) With the exception of Fred and Kris, this would be the first time that all of these cast members would actually be performing as their characters at a rehearsal. So, little little we began to discover who our characters are, through a combination of Jim's direction and vision, and our own deliveries.
The next scene we worked on was scene 2, involving only Kris Kringle, Suzie (or one of them, as Annabelle Deaner was unavailable for the evening, so only Grace Sewell worked on this scene), and a secretary named Miss Simms, who to my knowledge is uncast yet (though I could be wrong). After this scene was concluded and the children were no longer required for scene work, we went through the rest of the scenes, including Scene 1, which included Fred, the Judge, the D.A., Mrs. Walker, Tammany, and a secretary named Clara, who would be played by (the unavailable this evening) Tess Robinson. Once again, our characters and scene work became more fleshed out as we felt these new characters onstage for the first time. It showed even further through our work on the (rather short) scene 4 and scene 5, which included all the aforementioned characters in Scene 1 (except Clara), and also added Mr. Shellhammer (who was also unavailable this evening, I believe due to helping out backstage with another production this week) and Mr. Macy. While we were unable to work on the two songs in Scene 5 due to our absentee pianist, we were still able to do a lot of work on the scenes themselves. The last scene to work on was scene 6, which I'm sure was productive, but I didn't see it for myself, as my character was not in the scene and as such, I was unneeded for the rest of the evening.
This next week will have four different rehearsals, three of which I will be present for. We're getting closer by the day, but the show is further and further becoming glued together. Also, this upcoming Sunday, the 23rd, is NCT's 15th anniversary Celebration/Halloween Party at Nocello's at 5 pm. Seats are still available and Donna will be there for anyone who wants to sing something (and especially for those who want to sing an opposite gender song). You won't wanna miss it!
"I said that Calvin Coolidge was the first president, I can only imagine what they're thinking of me for that." -Kris Kringle
CAST LIST (NEWLY CAST MEMBERS ARE LISTED IN BOLD PRINT)
NOTE: As of October 16th, Caitlin Rees has withdrawn from the production. We wish her the best in all of her future endeavors.
Kris Kringle: Lawrence Palevsky
Doris Walker: Chelsea Brown
Susan Walker: Annabelle Deaner/Grace Sewell
Fred Gailey: James Reiss/Dave Curtis
Mr. Marvin Shellhammer: Justin Autz
Mr. R.H. Macy: Rich Lau
Judge Group: Suzie Lustig
D.A. Thomas Mara/Steven the Balloon Vendor: ...Thomas Stevens, maybe? Steven Mara?...Hmm...
Tammany O'Halloran: Patsy Van Dyke/Noel Dillon
Mrs. Sawyer: Kathy Lau
Miss Crookshank: Samantha Schoeps
Hendrika: Lily Eagen/Carlie Rees
Hendrika's Foster Mother: Judy Avena/Barbara Schulman
Harry Finfer: Jude Centamore/Michael Deaner
Mrs. Finfer: Michelle Centamore/Elise Autz
Thomas Mara Junior: Jacob Karp/Kieran Brown
Mr. Gimbel: John Morale
Mary (had a little lamb)/The Mayor of New York City: Joel Ackerman
Inebriated Santa Claus: Rich Rowehl
Hat Thieving Kid: Andrew Geres
Majorettes: Alyssa Infranco and Riley Gayer
The Governor of New York: Joe Centamore
Clara: Tess Robinson
Bailiff: James Roche
The following Roles as of yet are not cast (or are cast and I have yet to confirm who is cast as them)
Alvin, Whitey, and Climber, Marine friends of Fred's
Miss Sims, a nurse
Murphy, a night watchman
Lady Shopper
Man Shopper and his Wife
Young Woman Shopper
Clerk in Toy Department
Troubled Shopper
Two Policemen
Mailman
Tall Dame Girl Scout
Mrs. Beeler, the housekeeper
Marines, Parade Spectators, and Christmas Shoppers
Toy Ballet Sequence Characters
THE FOLLOWING CAST MEMBERS HAVE YET TO BE GIVEN A SPECIFIC PART AS OF 10/16/16 (Or they have and I don't know if they've been given a part yet)
Boys
Owen LaBruna
Anthony Shah
Nathan Zarko
Women
Jillian Graci
Katlyn Reller
Kellsey Roy
Linda Scott
Kate Smith
Girls
Julie Barbier
Juliette Bonchonsky
Maya Burget
Goldie Centamore
Bella Donneruno
Maggie Fitzmaurice
Jennifer Golder
Quincy Jackson
Arianna Keating
Grace Keating
Amelia Lau
Meaghan Maher
Juliet Morale
Grace Rowan
Ashley Rowehl
Amelia Semple
Emily Shah
Ella Smith
Emily Starin
Clare Vogt
Fallon Young
Lacey Zaharis
Sunday, October 9, 2016
Blog #2: The Big Cuh-lown Rehearsals
BIG BOLD NOTE: The show dates are Thursday November 10th, Saturday November 12th, Friday November 18th, and Saturday November 19th at 8pm, as well as on Sunday November 13th and 20th at 2pm. Tickets are not on sale at the moment but pricing information, as well as tickets for our fundraiser party at Nocello's on October 23rd and other information, can be found here at our theatre's website.
Written by: Justin Murphy
Date of Rehearsals Listed: 10/5 and 10/6
Rehearsal Location: Northport-East Northport Community Theatre/NCT
Here we are back again (that's a little redundant) for the second blog for NCT's Miracle on 34th Street! On the first rehearsal last week on Wednesday, the first thing we did was review the songs that we had already worked on previously, though we most specifically worked on the Big Clown (still pronounced Cuh-lown) Balloons. Why? Because it turned out that we would be blocking most of the first two scenes today.
The first thing done was a very brief scene involving Mr. Shellhammer and Mrs. Walker talking about hiring "Bearded Gentlemen" as Santa Claus (seriously, was it too hard to just call him Kris in the script the entire time?). After that, we worked on most of the first two scenes in the show, with the exception of the parade spectators's lines, as those parts haven't been given out yet. First a scene was done with Fred and Susie Walker, both of whom had already worked on the scene during previous rehearsals, and a little punk kid was added to steal Fred's hat, played by Andrew Geres. (As a side-note, James's particular way of saying "Santy Claus" made a good chunk of the cast crack up, myself included) In addition, Kris Kringle's interaction with a Balloon Vendor before the song starts was blocked, in addition to a few other characters interacting with the balloon vendor such as a little girl and the punk kid. I don't remember who's playing the balloon vendor, except that he internally decided to name the balloon vendor Steven...I dunno why, I guess he looks like a Steven.
The next scene involved Kris Kringle ended up replacing the intoxicated Santa Claus in the parade, as well as adding two girls to the scene to share a line (and to make fun of Mr. Shellhammer). A key moment that could change the foundation of this show happened this night, as Miss Muffet is no more, and Joel's character will now be Mary (from Mary had a little lamb). THE SHOW WILL NEVER BE THE SAME AGAYN. Kris Kringle was unavailable for the evening, so our director Jim performed his lines throughout both of the scenes that were worked on tonight.
Finally what happens in between these scenes, the song sequence, was blocked. Assisting Jim in figuring out where everyone would be blocked was cast member Tess Robinson. Jim had a few interesting ideas about how the parade would actually be done. What were they exactly? You'll have to come to the show in 31 days to see for yourself (wait, 31 days? AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!) Most of the cast was blocked into the scene for singing, with the exception of a few like Mrs. Walker, Susie, Fred, Kris Kringle, and the teenagers, the last of whom would be performing in the parade, whatever the parade turns out to be.
On the second day of rehearsal that week, we worked on the song sequence again. However this time, our choreographer, Tori, taught us what we'd be doing during the scene. She made sure to give everyone on the stage a specific place for both sections of the song, as at one point, the placing groups change completely towards around the end of the song. Once again, a few of the teenagers were left out of the dance, as they will be performing in the parade themselves. It was a little difficult for everyone to learn, as there will be around 40 people on stage during the dance if not more. However, with extensive practice and some elbow grease, we got it all down. Hopefully we remember it by the next time she holds a choreography night on next Wednesday the 19th! (At the moment, I still have all the steps down except for maybe one at the end.)
This coming week, there will be a full cast rehearsal on Tuesday the 11th as well as a cast rehearsal on Thursday the 13th for everyone in the courtroom scenes, myself included, to block that scene out (Shame I can't remember who I'm playing). As mentioned hitherto, there is also a full cast rehearsal to work on choreography on the 19th. Those are all the rehearsals we know for now. One piece of very interesting information was found out at the end of the rehearsal, thanks to my excellent deductive and sleuthing skills...or I just asked and found out easily enough. Former leading man of NCT, Dave Curtis, at some point, made his way to the auditorium, watching us learn the choreography. Now, Dave's niece is in the show. In fact, she's Grace Sewell, one of the two girls playing Susie, so I figured he was there to see her. It turned out he was actually there because James Reiss, for whatever reason, will be unavailable to play Fred Gaily for one of the weekends, so Dave will be stepping in for him during those times.
"Susan, I speak French but that doesn't make me Joan of Arc!" -Doris Walker
CAST LIST (Newly cast characters or actors will be italicized)
NOTE: As of October 10th, Heather Carro Totoro, Taylor Carro, Vinnie Dillon, and Luke Frisoli have all withdrawn from the production. We wish them the best in all of their future endeavors.
Kris Kringle: Lawrence Palevsky
Doris Walker: Chelsea Brown
Susan Walker: Annabelle Deaner/Grace Sewell
Fred Gailey: James Reiss/Dave Curtis
Mr. Marvin Shellhammer: Justin Autz
Mr. R.H. Macy: Rich Lau
Judge Group: Suzie Lustig
D.A. Thomas Mara/Steven the Balloon Vendor: I'm Steven
Mrs. Sawyer: Kathy Lau
Miss Crookshank: Samantha Schoeps
Hendrika: Lily Eagen/Carlie Rees
Hendrika's Foster Mother: Judy Avena/Barbara Schulman
Harry Finfer: Jude Centamore/Michael Deaner
Mrs. Finfer: Michelle Centamore/Elise Autz
Thomas Mara Junior: Jacob Karp/Kieran Brown
Mr. Gimbel: John Morale
Mary whom did once upon a time own a rather miniscule lamb: Joel Ackerman
Inebriated Santa Claus: Rich Rowehl
Hat Thieving Kid: Andrew Geres
Majorettes: Alyssa Infranco and Riley Gayer
The following Roles as of yet are not cast
Tammany O'Halloran, a political boss
Alvin, Whitey, and Climber, Marine friends of Fred's
Clara, a legal secretary
Miss Sims, a nurse
Bailiff, a...bailiff
Murphy, a night watchman
Lady Shopper, a lady sho-ok, that's enough, if the character doesn't have a name, than they don't need a description
Man Shopper and his Wife
Young Woman Shopper
Clerk in Toy Department
Troubled Shopper
Governor of New York
Mayor of New York City
Two Policemen
Mailman
Tall Dame Girl Scout
Mrs. Beeler, the housekeeper
Marines, Parade Spectators, and Christmas Shoppers
Toy Ballet Sequence Characters
THE FOLLOWING CAST MEMBERS HAVE YET TO BE GIVEN A SPECIFIC PART AS OF 10/10/16
Men
Joe Centamore
Boys
Owen LaBruna
James Roche
Anthony Shah
Nathan Zarko
Women
Noel Dillon
Jillian Graci
Katlyn Reller
Kellsey Roy
Linda Scott
Kate Smith
Patsy VanDyke
Girls
Julie Barbier
Juliette Bonchonsky
Maya Burget
Goldie Centamore
Bella Donneruno
Maggie Fitzmaurice
Jennifer Golder
Quincy Jackson
Arianna Keating
Grace Keating
Amelia Lau
Meaghan Maher
Juliet Morale
Caitlin Rees
Tess Robinson
Grace Rowan
Ashley Rowehl
Amelia Semple
Emily Shah
Ella Smith
Emily Starin
Clare Vogt
Fallon Young
Lacey Zaharis
Written by: Justin Murphy
Date of Rehearsals Listed: 10/5 and 10/6
Rehearsal Location: Northport-East Northport Community Theatre/NCT
Here we are back again (that's a little redundant) for the second blog for NCT's Miracle on 34th Street! On the first rehearsal last week on Wednesday, the first thing we did was review the songs that we had already worked on previously, though we most specifically worked on the Big Clown (still pronounced Cuh-lown) Balloons. Why? Because it turned out that we would be blocking most of the first two scenes today.
The first thing done was a very brief scene involving Mr. Shellhammer and Mrs. Walker talking about hiring "Bearded Gentlemen" as Santa Claus (seriously, was it too hard to just call him Kris in the script the entire time?). After that, we worked on most of the first two scenes in the show, with the exception of the parade spectators's lines, as those parts haven't been given out yet. First a scene was done with Fred and Susie Walker, both of whom had already worked on the scene during previous rehearsals, and a little punk kid was added to steal Fred's hat, played by Andrew Geres. (As a side-note, James's particular way of saying "Santy Claus" made a good chunk of the cast crack up, myself included) In addition, Kris Kringle's interaction with a Balloon Vendor before the song starts was blocked, in addition to a few other characters interacting with the balloon vendor such as a little girl and the punk kid. I don't remember who's playing the balloon vendor, except that he internally decided to name the balloon vendor Steven...I dunno why, I guess he looks like a Steven.
The next scene involved Kris Kringle ended up replacing the intoxicated Santa Claus in the parade, as well as adding two girls to the scene to share a line (and to make fun of Mr. Shellhammer). A key moment that could change the foundation of this show happened this night, as Miss Muffet is no more, and Joel's character will now be Mary (from Mary had a little lamb). THE SHOW WILL NEVER BE THE SAME AGAYN. Kris Kringle was unavailable for the evening, so our director Jim performed his lines throughout both of the scenes that were worked on tonight.
Finally what happens in between these scenes, the song sequence, was blocked. Assisting Jim in figuring out where everyone would be blocked was cast member Tess Robinson. Jim had a few interesting ideas about how the parade would actually be done. What were they exactly? You'll have to come to the show in 31 days to see for yourself (wait, 31 days? AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!) Most of the cast was blocked into the scene for singing, with the exception of a few like Mrs. Walker, Susie, Fred, Kris Kringle, and the teenagers, the last of whom would be performing in the parade, whatever the parade turns out to be.
On the second day of rehearsal that week, we worked on the song sequence again. However this time, our choreographer, Tori, taught us what we'd be doing during the scene. She made sure to give everyone on the stage a specific place for both sections of the song, as at one point, the placing groups change completely towards around the end of the song. Once again, a few of the teenagers were left out of the dance, as they will be performing in the parade themselves. It was a little difficult for everyone to learn, as there will be around 40 people on stage during the dance if not more. However, with extensive practice and some elbow grease, we got it all down. Hopefully we remember it by the next time she holds a choreography night on next Wednesday the 19th! (At the moment, I still have all the steps down except for maybe one at the end.)
This coming week, there will be a full cast rehearsal on Tuesday the 11th as well as a cast rehearsal on Thursday the 13th for everyone in the courtroom scenes, myself included, to block that scene out (Shame I can't remember who I'm playing). As mentioned hitherto, there is also a full cast rehearsal to work on choreography on the 19th. Those are all the rehearsals we know for now. One piece of very interesting information was found out at the end of the rehearsal, thanks to my excellent deductive and sleuthing skills...or I just asked and found out easily enough. Former leading man of NCT, Dave Curtis, at some point, made his way to the auditorium, watching us learn the choreography. Now, Dave's niece is in the show. In fact, she's Grace Sewell, one of the two girls playing Susie, so I figured he was there to see her. It turned out he was actually there because James Reiss, for whatever reason, will be unavailable to play Fred Gaily for one of the weekends, so Dave will be stepping in for him during those times.
"Susan, I speak French but that doesn't make me Joan of Arc!" -Doris Walker
CAST LIST (Newly cast characters or actors will be italicized)
NOTE: As of October 10th, Heather Carro Totoro, Taylor Carro, Vinnie Dillon, and Luke Frisoli have all withdrawn from the production. We wish them the best in all of their future endeavors.
Kris Kringle: Lawrence Palevsky
Doris Walker: Chelsea Brown
Susan Walker: Annabelle Deaner/Grace Sewell
Fred Gailey: James Reiss/Dave Curtis
Mr. Marvin Shellhammer: Justin Autz
Mr. R.H. Macy: Rich Lau
Judge Group: Suzie Lustig
D.A. Thomas Mara/Steven the Balloon Vendor: I'm Steven
Mrs. Sawyer: Kathy Lau
Miss Crookshank: Samantha Schoeps
Hendrika: Lily Eagen/Carlie Rees
Hendrika's Foster Mother: Judy Avena/Barbara Schulman
Harry Finfer: Jude Centamore/Michael Deaner
Mrs. Finfer: Michelle Centamore/Elise Autz
Thomas Mara Junior: Jacob Karp/Kieran Brown
Mr. Gimbel: John Morale
Mary whom did once upon a time own a rather miniscule lamb: Joel Ackerman
Inebriated Santa Claus: Rich Rowehl
Hat Thieving Kid: Andrew Geres
Majorettes: Alyssa Infranco and Riley Gayer
The following Roles as of yet are not cast
Tammany O'Halloran, a political boss
Alvin, Whitey, and Climber, Marine friends of Fred's
Clara, a legal secretary
Miss Sims, a nurse
Bailiff, a...bailiff
Murphy, a night watchman
Lady Shopper, a lady sho-ok, that's enough, if the character doesn't have a name, than they don't need a description
Man Shopper and his Wife
Young Woman Shopper
Clerk in Toy Department
Troubled Shopper
Governor of New York
Mayor of New York City
Two Policemen
Mailman
Tall Dame Girl Scout
Mrs. Beeler, the housekeeper
Marines, Parade Spectators, and Christmas Shoppers
Toy Ballet Sequence Characters
THE FOLLOWING CAST MEMBERS HAVE YET TO BE GIVEN A SPECIFIC PART AS OF 10/10/16
Men
Joe Centamore
Boys
Owen LaBruna
James Roche
Anthony Shah
Nathan Zarko
Women
Noel Dillon
Jillian Graci
Katlyn Reller
Kellsey Roy
Linda Scott
Kate Smith
Patsy VanDyke
Girls
Julie Barbier
Juliette Bonchonsky
Maya Burget
Goldie Centamore
Bella Donneruno
Maggie Fitzmaurice
Jennifer Golder
Quincy Jackson
Arianna Keating
Grace Keating
Amelia Lau
Meaghan Maher
Juliet Morale
Caitlin Rees
Tess Robinson
Grace Rowan
Ashley Rowehl
Amelia Semple
Emily Shah
Ella Smith
Emily Starin
Clare Vogt
Fallon Young
Lacey Zaharis
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