Kevin Pacelli ‘14
EE Entertainment Editor
Year after year, the talented young thespians of Trumbull High put on a show that wows their peers, teachers and community at the start of spring. This year’s musical, “Crazy For You,” was certainly no exception.
The musical tells the story of an aspiring dancer by the name of Bobby Child. When he travels to the western town of Deadrock, Nevada, he is immediately drawn to Polly Baker, the only woman in all of Deadrock. And as most romantic stories go, things get complicated, to say the least. Deception, jealousy and anger all run rampant in Deadrock as the story progresses further and further until reaching its happy ending.
The story itself is certainly enough to keep audiences entertained, but the show really shined through the performance. The music, sung by the cast and accompanied by a small orchestra, was originally written by the famous George and Ira Gershwin. It’s a very fun soundtrack, with well-written lyrics and choruses that kept feet tapping throughout the audience. The musicians loved the music just as much as the crowd did, and it really showed.
“I always look forward to the show because I want to play the music. I think that more than anything else is what gives everybody the energy to make the show as fantastic as it is,” says sophomore Eric Eisdorfer, who played clarinet, bass clarinet and tenor saxophone in the orchestra. “To be able to play music from the Gershwins in an amazing show like this was truly a brilliant experience.”
Eric wasn’t the only Trumbull High School student in the orchestra. Other members included juniors Hunter Sigona, Christopher Corda and Shaun Rimkunas. Seeing familiar faces playing the music for the show definitely added to the experience for THS students in the audience.
While the musical accompaniment was very impressive and fun to listen to, it definitely did not take away from what was happening on stage. Seniors Gabby Gottschall and Matt Johnson were phenomenal in their respective lead roles of Polly Baker and Bobby Child, while a strong cast of exceptional supporting actors and actresses included sophomore Nick Grew, juniors Morgan Fried, Dan Satter, Casey Walsh, Juli Ilea, Michel Grischuck and Jackie Sheehan, and seniors Ryan McEniry and Alex Allyn.
Some of the dance numbers in “Crazy For You” were really unlike anything that Trumbull High has done in recent years. The most notable change was the addition of tap dancing, but the tap dancing numbers were performed with such expertise that an outsider would have no idea this was a new undertaking for THS musicals.
Several of these numbers were led by Matt Johnson, who has had experience with tap dancing in productions of “Godspell” and “Anything Goes” outside of THS. However, even for him it was a unique experience.
“You can say this is the first production I really understand everything that the taps are doing,” says Matt. When asked about those cast members who were tap dancing for the first time, he explained that they had little trouble taking on the new style with the help of the talented staff. “Frank and Abby Root, the wonderful daughter and choreographer duo, certainly understand how to play on other’s strengths. They get us to work hard, but it results in a great product where each person has the ability to express what he/she is stronger at.”
While the new concept of tap dancing may have seemed risky, it certainly paid off in “Crazy For You.” Time will tell what the future has in store for THS musicals, but until then, one thing is certain: Trumbull High kids got rhythm!
[slideshow_deploy id=’1296′]