This year’s fall musical, “The Marvelous Wonderettes,” will be performed by four student actresses on Oct. 23 at 4:30 p.m., Oct. 24 at 7 p.m., and Oct. 25 at 2 p.m. in Powell Theatre. Following last year’s first attempt at a fall short film, high school theater director Caroline Mitchell ’15 wanted to go back to traditional theater roots and showcase the actor’s singing talents. Chorus and piano teacher Joel Terning proposed doing a musical because “music begins where words cannot go. Musical theater is such a complete art with dance, singing, acting, set, lighting, and multimedia where we can tell these stories so thoroughly.”
“The Marvelous Wonderettes” is a juke box musical, a show that features hit songs of a popular music group or genre. The musical is an older comedy, taking place in 1958, written for only four characters. It is about a group of best friends who get to sing as the entertainment for their school prom. Senior Fiona Callahan said these four girls are “very different characters, but they work together in their own way. There are lots of 50’s classics that people will love getting to hear in a new way through us.” The overarching theme of the musical is friendship, which is portrayed through snippets of their high school lives, how they lean on each other through their journeys, and persevere through adversity. Freshman Shannon Reding reflected on the character dynamics and relationships when she said her favorite part is getting to act out “the constant fighting throughout the show. Although it’s petty, at times it gets intense.”
The cast is excited to work in a smaller group setting, as this poses a challenge and new experience. Mitchell said that she is encouraged by this group and loves “getting to spend individual time with these four students in a way that I wouldn’t be able to with a big musical.” This gives the cast and directors the opportunity to delve into nuances of the characters and bring the smaller elements to the bigger show. Terning compares this to past bigger shows where “every cast member is valuable, and personal responsibility really shines through since our group is condensed down.”
In last year’s winter play, Mary Poppins, many seniors stepped out of their comfort zones and auditioned for the first time. Lilly Surber ‘25 spoke about her experience when she said “I had never done a theater performance before my senior year. It was challenging in a different way and helped me to discover new talents I didn’t know I had.” Mitchell encourages students to audition and believes theatre is unlike anything else on campus. She said, “it is fundamentally identical to any other Wesleyan team with a story building aspect added to it. The play builds a unique kind of community and understanding of other students. I have seen so many students walk out of the process better than they started and fulfilled by their experience.”
The diligence poured into the process is underestimated, which is what makes the experience so rewarding. The actors have two different rehearsals to touch on details and perfect their performance: music and blocking. In music rehearsals, they learn songs for the show, which include “four-part harmonies” incorporating the different instrumental lines using their voices. They also have blocking rehearsals where they establish the marks they will hit on stage and then practice utilizing their space. Although this experience is challenging, Callahan said, “we work so well as a team. The four of us have gotten so close as friends and are able to work with each other well to discover who our characters really are.”
The next opportunity to be involved in a theatre performance is the annual winter play, which will be the Broadway musical “Newsies.” Auditions for “Newsies” will take place during the last week of October, which will cast a larger group of thirty to thirty-five actors. There is also opportunity to work offstage overseeing lighting, stage management, makeup, assistant directing, and working on the team of crew members. Terning said that in theatre “there is a spot for everyone.” This is the type of team where such different roles and interests contribute to one big performance.
Wesleyan’s theatre department offers students an opportunity to explore their creativity, gain experience with performance, and develop a better grasp of the community. Mitchell said that reasons to audition “aren’t even measurable and students should try to do it at least once.” The Wesleyan community is invited to enjoy “The Marvelous Wonderettes” during the last week of October. Students may email cmitchell@wesleyanschool.org with questions regarding auditions for the upcoming winter play.
Cast and Crew: Ellie Moss, Fiona Callahan, Shannon Reding, Nia Pandya, James Hamilton, Taylor Gronewoller, Sabella Samuel
Creative Team: Ms. Mitchell – Director, Mr. Terning – Music Director, Ms. Penso- Assistant Director, Mr. Broyles – Technical Director, Ms. Wright- Assistant Technical Director, Ms. Hooper- Costume Coordinator
