Sandy Creek High School gets musical

Sandy Creek High School drama and chorus departments will present the Broadway musical “West Side Story” this weekend at Patriot Hall.

The show boasts one of the largest casts to appear in a musical at Sandy Creek, and most characters sing and dance as well as act. Actors and musicians alike have put in hours of time to make this year’s production one to remember. Rehearsals started January 16, with four rehearsals per week until 7 p.m., and Fridays until 9 p.m. This huge commitment from the cast will be seen at show time.

Making its debut in 1957, “West Side Story” is based on Shakespeare's “Romeo and Juliet,” and is set in the West Side of New York City in the '50s. The book is by Arthur Laurents, music by Leonard Bernstein, and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim.

The show centers around Tony and Maria’s tragic love story, and expands to include the struggles of all youth in finding a place where they fit in to the world, rivalries between groups - the Sharks and the Jets - and the variety of ways people can find to separate themselves and hate each other. It shows the violence and destruction to which this hatred can lead: themes which are still prevalent in today’s culture.

“West Side Story” features some of the most timeless music ever written for the musical theatre, including songs such as "Maria," "Somewhere," "Tonight," "America," and "I Feel Pretty."

Members of the Fine Arts faculty at SCHS, Kathy Andersen serves as the stage direction and technical director with Millie Turek as musical director and conductor. Three choreographers have been brought in to work the show: Olive Ashley, Katie Greenhaw, and Jonsie Pollock, and SCHS alumnus Justin Sims assisted with combat techniques. In addition, around two dozen students are working on crew and design jobs, with another dozen or more assisting with house management, nearly doubling the number of students involved.

Members of the Jets gang include Mike Young and Mitch Boettcher sharing the role of Tony and Shane Gardner as Riff. Additional Jets will be played by Tyler Rhoton, Corry Chisholm, Aaron Biemiller, Garrett Okun, Jesse Alexander, Paul Merrill, Deanna Mitchell, Savannah Turek, Nettie Brill, Laura Rast, Rebecca Owens, Angela Reames, Catie Stephens, Jasmine Graham, Katherine Server, Katie McCormack, Laura O’Donnell, Lauren Kane, Mariah Carey, and Rachel Bell.

Students playing adults in the show include Thomas Eastin as Lieutenant Shrank, Hunter Lee as Officer Krupke, Victoria Raby as Miss Glad, and Ethan Hooker as Doc.

Sharks include Alice Crisp and Stephanie Earle as Maria, Simone Marks and Maria Carreon as Anita, Elliot Dixon and Jonathan Tremblay-Leal as Bernardo, and Zack Tyler as Chino. Additional Sharks include Elysia Hou, Molly Robbins, Alysha Kaba, Brianna Gilliam, Brittany Sewell, Camille Jenkins, Christal Dimas, Elena Hernadez, Elena Sorci, Kari Hall, Lauren Hoffler, Liz Hernandez, Shannon Demons, Terri Gillespie, Rosie Masoero, Elliott Dixon, Jonathan Tremblay, Zack Lopez, Chris Dougherty, Dwayne Hicks, Mikhail Arnold, Robert Tobias.

Due to the level of difficulty of Bernstein's musical score, producers are pleased to have professional and semi-professional musicians accompanying the students for the production.

Jim Hagberg received his bachelor of music degree in violin performance in 1979 from Morningside College in Sioux City, Iowa. Currently he is director of orchestras at Flat Rock Middle School and Sandy Creek High School.
Casey Eubanks is currently in his tenth year as a music educator.  Under his direction, the Sandy Creek Marching Band has increased in size and quality. The program now includes three concert bands, a marching band, and a jazz band.

Mariano Pacetti joined the UWG music faculty in 1990 and is the instructor of Jazz Improvisation and Jazz Combo. He has taught in the Newnan-Coweta County School System as a band director, and has extensive professional experiences as a saxophonist in Cleveland, Las Vegas, Orlando, and Atlanta.

Dock Anderson is the organist and choirmaster at St. John’s Episcopal Church in College Park. He also conducts the Capitol City Opera Company’s Madrigal Singers. For over thirteen years he was the choral director at Woodward Academy, during which time his choirs garnered international acclaim on six European tours.

Rodger Danes attended Memphis State University on a full music scholarship. After leaving MSU, he toured with the Platters, and since then has been a frequent performer at many popular events, including the Atlanta and Mobile Jazz Festivals and played the world premier of the opera “Deseret.”

 Marcus Rayner received his bachelor of music education degree from Georgia Southern University where he studied percussion under Dr. Matt Fallin. Prior to coming to Sandy Creek, Rayner served as percussion instructor for Wayne County High School Band directed by Beth Taylor. He is currently the assistant band director at SCHS.

David Biemiller has been playing professionally for over 20 years. From the mid '80s to the '90s, he was the singer-songwriter for an Atlanta progressive-rock band, Terra Free, and wrote over 50 original songs. As a film composer, his work has been heard on PBS channel 30 and the Discovery Channel. Biemiller is currently the director of music for Christ Our Hope Lutheran Church.

Lindsay Welch and Daniel Ross are students at Sandy Creek. Calvin Kelly rounds out the cast of musicians performing during the show.

For a great evening of comedy, romance, and tragedy, check out “West Side Story” in Patriot Hall at Sandy Creek High School.

Performance dates are Friday and Saturday, March 23 and 24 at 7 p.m., and one Sunday matinee, March 25 at 2:30 p.m. Tickets will be available at the door 30 minutes before curtain time for $7. Some children may find the show lengthy or disturbing, so parents are encouraged to take this under consideration before purchasing tickets.