Back in May of 2023, The Green High School Musical Theater department revealed the fall 2023 musical: Anastasia. The cast lists were posted and students buzzed with excitement about their roles and for the future musical season. Fast forward to November 2023 and the musical season is well underway. The work begins over the summer for the cast who meet and have bonding activities which helps them when it comes to November when the weeks leading up to the show get stressful.
Musical Theater is a class at GHS that meets as a block first and second period for the entire first semester. This gives the students a designated time each day to rehearse. However, they also have after school rehearsals that vary in length but are held regularly.
“The month of November is when we have after school rehearsals. Depending on the day they can be anywhere from 5-9 p.m. or 6-9 p.m. With the football team doing so well, our Friday rehearsals have been adjusted to be right after school. We really make sure we get some rehearsal time everyday to keep everything fresh,” Nadia Otterstetter ‘24 said.
There are five lead roles in this year’s musical; Clayton Breon ‘24 as Dimitri, Claire Holdren ‘24 as Anya, Anthony Mcmicheal III ‘26 as Gleb Vaganov, Aiden Brueck ‘25 as Vladimir, Nyla Hodoh ‘24 as Empress, and Nadia Otterstetter ‘24 as Countess Lilly. As three of these roles are filled by seniors, this does change the way they view their last musical theater season.
“For me, I’ve never been in a production with the expectation and responsibility of being a senior. At our school specifically, being a senior isn’t just you getting better roles because you have that experience, it’s not just this is your last year and you need to make the show good; it’s really a position of leadership. Holding the cast together and making sure everyone is able to communicate their feelings is all a part of that leadership role. I realized how in the past I’ve relied so much on my relationships with my past seniors, and I try to be that rock for the underclassmen in musical theater this year,” Otterstetter said.
In past years, there have usually been two casts of the musical; however, this isn’t the case for Anastasia.
“This year the show was not double cast which was a change,” Holdren said.
Double casting is when two or more people are cast for the same role and will alternate between shows. Last year, the Musical: The Little Mermaid was double casted as there were two Ariels, two Ursullas, and many other roles which were portrayed by two people in different showtimes. So, each performance of Anastasia this year will have the exact same cast members performing.
The cast of Anastasia also faced a little bit of trouble this year when Dimitri, Clayton Breon, was badly injured during a football game earlier this fall which greatly affected his leg. This gave the cast and directors a new challenge to face.
“It has affected some of my movements in the dancing, but my cast mates and I have gotten together and done a really good job of choreographing movements and moves that work and are comfortable for me. As far as stage movement goes, my leg hasn’t slowed that down at all. I can sing and move, and everything is working well,” Breon said.
The Thursday night showing of Anastasia was popular and liked by many viewers. People were especially surprised by the talent of sophomore Anthony Mcmicheal III who played Gleb Vaganov.
“I was just blown away by III’s performance. I knew he could sing; I just didn’t know he could sing like that! He was just so powerful and strong,” Julia Viola ‘24 said.
Also, Musical Theater Director Katrina Honkala is proud of the whole cast including the effort and work they put into the show on and off stage.
“I am extremely proud of the hard work all of our students have put in this year. I am big on the mantra of what you put in is what you get out. With that being said, these students put it all out on the stage,” Honkala said.
When putting hard work and effort into something, it’s very satisfying to see the results. It is evident the cast of Anastasia wanted to have great performances which was seen through not only their demeanor on stage and the smiles on their faces at the final curtain.
