The St. Pius X Theater program journeyed to New York City September 14-18. The group of 25 students stayed in Times Square and had a jam-packed agenda viewing different theater productions and participating in some other theater-related activities.
“[The students] saw three Broadway shows, ‘Sweeney Todd, Kimberly Akimbo, and Shucked’,” said Director of Theater Mrs. Buot. She said they were especially looking forward to seeing “Sweeney Todd” “because Josh Groban is an amazing singer and performer.”
However, the production did not go as anticipated.
“There was a malfunction with the background, so the set couldn’t move around and so they told us that… they were going to do a concert version of the show,” junior Libbie Brownlow said. “They just sat on the stage and sang the songs from the first 40 minutes of the show. It was really cool.”
Although it was curtains for “Sweeney Todd”, the troupe was able to use their refunded ticket fare to attend the Broadway phenomenon “Wicked”. Juniors Elliot Seng and Parker Schofield were ecstatic at the opportunity to get tickets to Wicked which they had wanted to see for so long. Senior Molly Pitra said that Wicked was her favorite production and it was “just as magical as it had been the first time” she saw the production.
The group also participated in Broadway workshops, which according to Mrs. Buot, are “a way for students to experience what it is like to work in professional theater. Live theater and these workshops always help the students grow and theater skills as a whole,”
While the group enjoyed both the “Sweeney Todd” and “Shucked” workshops, the unconventional nature of the “Shucked” workshop made it the most memorable.
“The ‘Shucked’ workshop was really cool because we learned choreography but not in a normal way because we did line dancing with corn. It’s a cool opportunity that we wouldn’t otherwise get to have because we get to meet one of the Broadway actors who we get to see that night,” Pitra said.
Meeting “Shucked” actor John Bowman also seemed to be a highlight of the trip, especially for Brownlow.
“We were just kind of standing in the hallway [backstage] after everybody left. But then John Bowman came out, and I was so excited because I had already decided that he was my favorite. At first, he did just sign my playbill but then it was both of my hands,” Brownlow said.
In addition to theater excursions, the students visited The Big Apple in true tourist fashion, exploring the Empire State Building, Rockefeller Center, and Radio City Music Hall.
Trips to Little Italy and Chinatown were the foodies’ favorite stops of the trip. Schofield visited a small dumpling shop where she “ate about 30 fried dumplings,” and Brownlow fondly remembers her bruschetta and spaghetti bolognese. A visit to the “top of the rock” on the Empire State Building and the Natural History Museum were also notable sites as Seng marveled at the “huge skeleton of the Stegosaurus.”
The trip also included a mass at St. Malachy’s Chapel which is known as “The Actor’s Chapel,” because it’s the place of worship for Catholic performers on Broadway.
Brownlow and Pitra both mentioned how the biggest takeaway from the trip was the relationships forged and time spent with castmates.
“The biggest thing I took away is how much I am going to miss all the seniors,” Brownlow said. “These trips really help build our theater community, and we are able to grow closer because when you share a room with them and are with them for 24 hours. That’s definitely one of my favorite parts and what I have taken away.”
Even though the trip is over, the show will go on for the troupe as they use the friendships they formed and lessons they learned to make the theater program better than ever.
You can next catch the theater program in action at their Fall One Act Plays, “Aunt Leaf” and “ A Voice in the Dark: A Salem Story”, on October 16 and October 17.
