For many, the highlight of the school year is the BF Musical production. Hopeful students audition for the parts they would like to perform, and the rehearsals start in January. This leaves only 4-5 months to learn and practice lines, dances, and songs. Then, in May, the musical is performed four times, two of which are in the evening for family and friends, and then it’s performed two times during school hours for students to watch. 

Last year, students performed Grease, a musical about a romance between high school students, Danny Zuko and Sandy Dumbrowski. The show went well and a lot of people enjoyed it, seeing that it was the first musical in 2 years, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Being in the musical requires a lot of work, on top of schoolwork, so it is a big commitment. If you want to try out for a lead role, you must audition in December. You can also be a part of the stage crew, which helps with transitions, props, and other vital pieces of the show. The BF Musical has been a huge part of BF for many years, and kids look forward to either watching it or being a part of it every single year. Mr. Ordini, Mrs. Kawash, and Mr. Dabby all play essential roles in the play. 

Mrs. Kawash, the musical director, sat down with The Bolt to speak about the upcoming performance of the Addams Family.

Tell us a little bit about the story of Addams Family.

 “It’s kind of a kooky story. It’s based on the TV show, The Addams Family, which was turned into a movie which was turned into a musical. So it’s basically about this creepy, kooky family. They’re all very strange. All of their relatives are deceased, but they still hang out together, and it’s about the trials and tribulations of their family and navigating their daughter Wednesday, through her relationship with a normal boy, they fall in love and want to get married, and it’s about how they navigate through her love story.”

The last two productions have been using double casting, what is that? 

“Double casting means we want to give more opportunities to more kids, so we’re having a Cast A and a Cast B, so the lead characters are being played by two different people, so that means twice as many people get to have parts.On the Thursday performance, I believe it is Cast A during the day and Cast B in the evening, and on Friday it’s Cast B in the morning and Cast A in the evening.”

This year’s performance will be “May 4th-5th, so it’s Thursday and Friday night, and we also do performances for the school at 1:00.”

How has the process been going so far this?

“Everybody, honestly, is doing an amazing job. They’re really stepping up, they’re learning their lines. One thing I’ve noticed is that they’re very much in character, which in this year’s show, all the characters are “characters.” They’re all very much different since they’re not playing normal people. I’m impressed with how well they’re taking on the role of each character.”

This year and the previous year, the musical crew has used high schoolers to help with choreography. Mrs. Kawash explained why.

“We asked a couple of high school students to come and help with choreography last year. Since we have such a small amount of time, and we only work on the show one day a week, it’s good to be able to divide and conquer. If I’m working with music in one room and Mr. Dabby is doing lines, and then the choreographers are doing dance, we’re able to do a lot of different things at the same time, and we actually asked them to come back again this year!”

During a meeting, they’ll always do different things. “In the beginning [of the year], we started to do the big group music first, like the first couple of rehearsals, for everyone who is involved. We sit down and sing and learn all of the songs. The choreographers come in and they teach the big group dancers, so we kind of do stuff that incorporates the whole cast in the beginning. As we go through [the year] we work on smaller scenes and solos and duets, and things like that. Today, for example, we’re running through Act 1. So they’ve learned all of the music and dances and lines for Act 1, so we’ll be running through Act 1, alternating between the casts, so everybody gets a turn to do their lines and songs, and then we’re going to be working through Act 2, because we’re about halfway through Act 2 now.”

How has this year differed from the past three?

“This is only the third year that teachers have been able to have a hand in the show, and I’m really enjoying The Addams Family. I really enjoyed working on Grease, and before Grease, during COVID we were set to do Freaky Friday, but we ended up not being able to perform it. I loved working on all three, and I don’t think I have a favorite, to be honest with you, I enjoyed them all.”

What is your favorite part about helping with the production?

“My favorite part is just getting to work with the kids, like more of the one-on-one. My classes are so big and it’s nice to work after school with the kids, and in smaller numbers, and build relationships, and I get to coach them more individually, as opposed to doing an entire class.”

Come out to see the show May 4th and 5th at BF, it’s sure to be a great time.