Shelter Island School musical thrills Island audiences
Like the fireworks in summer, the musical performances of the Shelter Island High School Drama Club joyfully burst onto the stage each spring, piercing even the gray curtain of a dreary weekend with color, music and youthful talent.
From Thursday evening, April 4, through the afternoon of Sunday the 6th, performances of “Big Fish,” with the book by John August and music and lyrics by Andrew Lippa, filled the school auditorium to cheers and whistles.
Nathan Cronin in the lead as Edward Bloom gives a marathon performance in each show, powerfully acting, singing and dancing in nearly every scene. He’s well matched by Henry Springer playing his son Will, in a play that calls on them both to portray a range of emotions.
They are surrounded by a talented cast, including Madison Quinn Sobejana as a young Will, Sadie Green-Clark as Edward’s wife, Lily Potter as a witch, Lily Brigham as a mermaid and Juliana Medina as Will’s wife. Daniel Hernandez is a circus ringmaster, Elsie Mae Brigham Edward’s first love Jenny Hill, with Ari Waife as a giant and Eli Green as rival Don Price.
The show flies through a kaleidoscope of scenes ranging from quiet bedroom talks to a circus performance to a USO show and a haunting gathering of witches in the forest, with Lionardo Napoles, Alexis Bartilucci, Elizabeth Weslek, Emily Shepherd, Emily Lupo, Michelle Martinez, Liam Sobejana, Elsie Mae Brigham, Lydia Brigham, Regina Kolmogorova, Kylie Kuhr-Leonard, Maeve Springer, and Makayla Cronin, all cycling through numerous roles and costume changes.
Receiving as boisterous an ovation as the performers after the finale were the Stage Crew: Elliott Schack, Lily Kuhr, Natalie Mamisashvili, Christopher DiOrio, Jessie King, and Alice Potter.
If it takes a village to raise a child, it requires a small army to put on these productions, starting with Director John Kaasik and Producer Anu Kaasik, Choreography by Jessie King, Vocal Director Sara Mundy, Drama Coach Susan Cincotta, and Stage Manager Robert Beckwith. Lighting was provided by Marcus and John Kaasik, microphones by Bethsaida Yaritza Campos, and costumes by Julia Brennan. Set Design was by John Kaasik; Peter Waldner was Set Artist and poster creator; Program and Publicity were handled by Lisa Kaasik; the Box Office by Lisa Goody and Susan Cronin.
The production’s videographer was Karl Kaasik; photographer was Eleanor Labrozzi, and Humor Consultant was Karl Kaasik.
Watching the tightly orchestrated show shifting between times and places, with stunning special effects and dramatic use of lighting, it would be easy for the audience to forget that they were watching a high school play in a very small school.
Only by focusing on the faces in the cast, would they remember that these were the boys and girls they had watched grow up since nursery school, now transformed into the characters bringing the story to life. With most of them in their early high school grades, we can look forward to enjoying their talents in school musicals for a few years yet to come.
This year’s production was dedicated to the memory of Paul Mobius, who died in December at age 92. He had devoted many years to creating these shows, recalled in the program as “he poured his heart into every prop and set piece he ever built.”
After the cast received its ovations at the end of each show, Nathan Cronin would break the fourth wall and ask the audience to please, on their way out, drop something into the hat to support the school National Honor Society’s fundraiser for the Special Olympics. Sweaty and exhausted, the cast members still in costume accepted donations willingly offered by members of the audience. Shelter Island at its best.
