‘The Music Man’ will open at Cherry Hill East on March 2 for the first of six performances.
Cherry Hill High School East’s spring musical, “The Music Man,” includes a little bit of everything.
The show has a ton of high-energy singing and dancing, a large cast featuring 18 students from other Cherry Hill schools, an intriguing story line and even a horse.
“It’s such a nice story that everybody will enjoy, whether you’re an adult, a grandparent, a kid,” said sophomore Alicia Cosenza, playing the role of Marian Paroo in the red cast.
Cherry Hill East Theatre will hold six performances of “The Music Man” from March 2 to 4 and March 9 to 11 at the school’s auditorium. Two casts will perform the show, with the red and white cast taking the stage in alternating shows.
Cast members describe “The Music Man” as a big departure from last year’s musical, “Ragtime.”
“We have a larger group of character actors,” director Tom Weaver said. “This show is loaded with funny character types.”
The show revolves around Harold Hill, a con man who travels to midwestern towns in the United States and convinces residents to raise money for uniforms and instruments for a new band. Once Hill receives the money, he immediately leaves. However, when Hill arrives at River City, Iowa, he meets a librarian named Marian Paroo, with whom he falls in love. Hill faces a dilemma of whether he should leave River City with the money he’s received to start a band or stay with his newfound love.
One of the toughest roles to perform is Hill. Junior Kevin Naddeo is performing as Hill in the white cast, and senior Harrison Smith will play Hill in the red cast. Hill presents a challenge to the actors because of his fast talking and singing pace as well as his body movements during the show.
“With the fall show, George Bailey, everyone knew who he was in town,” Naddeo said about his character from the fall play, “It’s a Wonderful Life.” “With Harold Hill, it’s fast-paced. You’re trying to convince everyone all the time.”
“For almost the entirety of ‘Music Man,’ even for scenes that aren’t songs and are just background parts, there are elements of choreography all the time,” Smith said. “It’s very difficult, but challenging in a good way that you always have to have that posture and position with your body and you always have to know where you are.”
Senior Courtney Bird, playing the role of Marian Paroo in the white cast, said the show’s fast pace makes it a challenge for the cast to keep up its energy in every scene.
“It’s so energetic, everywhere, all the time,” she said. “There’s not one song where you would get bored.”
The high school actors have received a spark from 18 younger students who are performing in this year’s play. One of those students is fourth grader Connor Lausi from Stockton Elementary School who is playing the role of Winthrop in the white cast.
“Once they assigned me to being Winthrop, I didn’t really have much confidence,” Lausi said. “But the first time I started singing, everything started working and I realized I was pretty good at this.”
Naddeo said having younger students in the cast this year has given everyone who is working on the show a boost.
“They bring a totally different energy at rehearsals when they are here,” he said.
Cherry Hill East is also holding another fundraiser in conjunction with the show. In December, the theater department tied in a fundraiser for hurricane relief with “It’s a Wonderful Life.” The theater department exceeded its goal of $8,000 and decided to start another fundraiser for its spring show.
“This show, we chose a new charity called Rock To The Future,” Naddeo said. “They’re located in Philly, so it’s really close to us. They like to help kids who can’t afford to buy their own instrument. They have their own music lessons and music camps.”
A collection will take place at all six performances of “The Music Man” with proceeds going toward Rock to the Future.
“The Music Man” will be performed on March 2, 3, 9 and 10 at 7:30 p.m. and March 4 and 11 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $15 for adults, $10 for students and $5 for seniors with a gold card. Tickets are available one hour prior to the show or by calling the Cherry Hill East Theatre box office at (856) 424–2222 ext. 2019.
