by Thomas Biamonte

Confetti filled the auditorium on September 9th when the OHS drama department took to the stage to announce all the shows that will happen this year at OHS. As the curtain opened in front of an eager crowd of students, the teachers came on stage dancing along to several musicals that were rumored to have been the selected shows for the upcoming school year, such as Nine to Five and The Addams Family, but each time students gasped and yelled assuming that they had guessed correctly, the teachers put their thumbs down and moved on to the next song. The drama department seemed to be having fun messing with the student audience. Eventually, both Mrs. Gallo And Ms. Taplin, the two acting teachers at OHS, danced to a song from the show FAME and, as the music stopped, students expected the thumbs down they had grown all too used to, but instead Mrs. Gallo announced to the antsy students that this years Fall Drama would indeed be FAME.  As the crowd roared with applause, Mrs. Gallo announced that she would be directing and choreographing the show with Ms. Taplin! ¨I am very excited for our upcoming season. This year we are working on FAME the drama, which is based on the real NYC High School of the Arts and the 1980’s movie,¨ Mrs. Gallo said. 

After the applause died down, both acting teachers invited the Chorus teacher, Ms. Haglund, up to the stage where she sang a rendition of ¨All that Jazz¨ From Chicago while the other teachers danced behind her. Chicago was rumored by many students to be the musical, so a small hush fell over the room as students anticipated either an announcement or another thumbs down, but the tension was broken when Mr. Andrew Frey-Gould, OHS director of Fine Arts, came dancing and singing onto the stage wearing a hat from Newsies.  

Newsies, however, was just another decoy by the drama department. Suddenly, there was a loud knock that could be heard coming from the back auditorium door. Some students initially thought someone was interrupting the performance, but they soon realized it was all a part of the show when a former Thespian took to the stage holding her dog, Mitch. Mrs. Gallo then said to the crowd that we should have a dog in the next musical which confirmed every student’s suspicion of what the show would be –  the musical is Legally Blonde! which will also be directed by Mrs. Gallo and choreographed by Ms. Taplin. The Music Director will also be  Ms. Haglund.  As the dance came to a close, Ms.Taplin and Mrs. Gallo got a confetti cannon from off-stage and shot it out into the audience leaving the students awestruck.  Mrs. Gallo commented, ¨We are doing Legally Blonde! for our Spring Musical. It’s a big year of movie adaptations that I can’t wait to make our own. I’m also pleased to work with our new full time theater teacher, Michelle Taplin. When she was a student here, she was a pleasure to work with, and now she is a dream colleague. The students are very lucky to have her as part of our department.¨  

What a great way to announce the performances for the upcoming school year! Mr. Frey-Gould seemed to share this sentiment when he said, ¨Ms. Gallo’s idea to announce the show through a mini performance was not only fun for all of us to prepare, but it also brought us so much joy sharing our love of theater with all of the students.”  OHS students are ready to put on a show. In fact, they are ready to put on several shows this year, and they cannot wait for you to see them!