Fantastic singing, phenomenal acting, and elaborate dancing made the musical Mame the best theater production of the year. Held together by the strong lead Dana Kruger, Mame captured the talent of the theater department when it hit the stage on April 18-27.
The musical is about a young boy named Patrick who moves in with his Auntie Mame Dennis after the death of his father. Mame lives life to the fullest and believes in making the most of everything. The musical follows the story of Mame and Patrick during the start of the Great Depression.
Everyone who wanted to be in the musical was allowed to participate. With the orchestra, technical side, and cast, there were over seventy students involved.
Papin said she picked Mame to showcase her best talent.
“I had some really strong women seniors,” she said.
Senior Dana Kruger portrayed Auntie Mame and wonderfully captured the spunky personality of her character. Her singing and acting were both phenomenal and well rehearsed, especially in songs like “Open a New Window” and “My Best Girl.”
“A combination of a great voice, great work ethic, and ability to find truth in character make Dana a great performer,” said Papin.
Other seniors in the production included Julia Kahky and Austin Sultzbach.
Kahky played Vera Charles, an overly dramatic and often rude character. However, Vera’s side comments were humorous and kept the audience laughing.
Sultzbach portrayed the polite and charming Beauregard Jackson Pickett Burnside, who seemed like a match made from heaven for Mame. All of Mame and Burnside’s interactions and scenes were comical and entertaining. Two of my favorite scenes in the musical were “The Fox Hunt” and the scene in the nail salon, in both of which Sultzbach gave a memorable performance.
The costumes were elaborate, especially in scenes at the southern plantation and in the Laboratory of Life. The costumes captured the essence of the parties, dances, and upscale living of Auntie Mame.
A student orchestra performed the music from a pit. Live music enhanced the performance and brought the musical to life. “We have a great student band,” said Papin.
The choreography was spectacular, especially during the larger numbers such as “Mame” and “Open a New Window.” Papin said that she came up with most of the choreography herself.
“[However], for the production number from Mame I took the original choreography which is Onna White’s iconic original choreography,” she said.
Papin said that because it is so iconic, she felt that her production’s “Mame” number was expected to be similar to the original choreography.
“It’s kind of like the ‘Hello Dolly’ number from Hello Dolly the musical,” Papin said. “I also wanted to challenge our kids to be able to do that choreography.”
Papin stated that the featured dancers especially were working very hard. That hard work definitely paid off for everyone involved with the production.
