Students at Hall High School performed in the first musical, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, presented by the theatre department since it’s last confirmed musical in 1971. 

Having a theatre performance open to all students is beneficial, “There have been studies that show the performing arts have the same impact on students’ overall well-being, mental and physical, as extracurricular sports. Giving students an outlet to perform and to be on stage is so important.” Spencer Bazzano, the Director, Producer, and Lighting Designer for the show said.

Theatre has a strong impact on the students who perform, “Performing takes me out of real life for a while and allows me to be anyone I want to be. I love knowing I have made someone smile, or laugh, or touched them in a way I will never know.” said Lauren Shilansky, a lead actress in the show playing Rona Lisa Peretti.

The theatre department isn’t only for those who want to be on stage, “I chose stage crew not only because I am in Stagecraft but also because it is fun to build the set, props, and even run the show. It gives a great feeling of excitement and adrenaline,”  said Sam Merrow, Deck Chief for the show.

When the topic of why it has been so long since the last show came up Shilansky said, “Madrigals has been holding some weird placeholder, and Pops N Jazz is it’s own beast, but this is the first musical in a long time where everyone has had the chance to participate.” Madrigals is a performance through the choir department where only music students can participate and Pops N Jazz is a highly competitive, mostly instrument dependent performance, put on each year by the music department.

It has been at least 50 years since the last musical, but it won’t be that long until the next one. The department is hoping to run a musical every year: “A big part of that plan working depends on how many students come out to audition. I hope that more students outside the theater or music departments will join us for any show, not just the musical,” Bazzano said.