The musical romantic comedy will also run on Nov. 25, Dec. 1 and Dec. 2.
The drama students of Cherokee High School took on an added challenge this year in preparing for “White Christmas” as their fall production.
With show director Joe Fisicaro Jr. confident about his students’ ability to sing and act, but also confident in their ability to dance, Fisicaro said he wanted to see if his students could perform a show with multiple, complex tap dancing numbers with about two months to prepare.
Now in an interview just a week before the show, Fisicaro stands by that choice, describing the effort of his students as nothing less than “phenomenal.”
“Knowing how difficult the show is, the students have been showing the tenacity to keep up with it, so it’s been unreal,” Fisicaro said. “We’re making this work because they strive to be excellent at it. They were doing some absolutely amazing things right off the bat.”
As with the 1954 romantic comedy and musical film, Cherokee’s production of “White Christmas” follows the story of two war buddies/professional entertainers and the ups and downs of their blossoming relationships with two performing sisters as the group works to bring some holiday cheer to the former soldiers’ commanding officer and his struggling inn.
Senior Jake Liguori, cast in the role of Bob Wallace, believes audiences will not only love the show’s familiar holiday songs such as “White Christmas” and “Happy Holidays,” but they’ll also be impressed with Cherokee’s well-rehearsed performers.
“This is a lot more dance heavy than past shows and we have bigger numbers, and we’re able to do that because, while in prior years we always had good dancers, this year we have an abundance of them,” Liguori said.
Senior Hannah Chiappine, set to play the role of Betty Haines, also praised the dancing skills of her classmates, who she said are now prepared for a show with music and dance numbers rivaling those of Cherokee’s annual spring musicals.
“I’m really impressed with the short amount of time that we had and how well this show has turned out. There’s not a weak link whatsoever,” Chiappine said.
Senior Brandon Ashe, cast in the role of Phil Davis, said audiences who see the show wouldn’t be able to miss the hard work of the students on stage.
“Making it look good is challenging because everyone has different skills, so it’s hard to work on your dancing and still have to worry about your singing and dancing while you’re acting, but it’s really coming together and it’s going to be a good show,” Ashe said.
Junior Casey Curcio, set to play the role of Judy Haines, also praised the family-oriented show and the hard work of her fellow castmates.
“There’s so much talent on this stage — it’s incredible. And this will be the last fall show for a lot of the seniors, including the other leads with Brandon, Hannah and Jake, so you can see them for one last fall show,” Curcio said.
Cherokee High School’s production of “White Christmas” debuts Nov. 24 at 7 p.m. The show will also run on Nov. 25, Dec. 1 and Dec. 2 at 7 p.m.
Tickets are available at the door and online at www.cherokeedrama.org. Tickets are $10 for general admission, and Golden Age Passes will be honored for the Nov. 25 performance only.
