Broadway Shows are Sell Outs at Arrowhead
Arrowhead High School’s Broadway Company is a 10th hour class and also an after school activity. According to the BC’s webpage, “The Broadway Company is a vocal ensemble devoted to the performance of musical theater and a variety of other musical styles…Students are also required to be a part of the annual musical, which requires extensive rehearsals.”
In addition to the Broadway Company, AHS also offers a Drama Club. The BC differs from the Drama Club in that “we do music theater and the Drama Club does what they call straight shows, which means shows without music,” said Nancy Jorgensen, one of the two Broadway directors.
“Other types of drama without music” is what separates the two, she says.
Jorgensen is one director of the Broadway Company; Grace Bielski is the other director.
The productions chosen for BC are not at random. After auditions in the spring, Bielski and Jorgensen evaluate the strength of the group to choose and make decisions based on that. For example, if there is a strong group of men, they may choose a show that features men, such as West Side Story.
According to Bielski, competition runs high in the BC.
A skill set of singing in tune, quick movements, ability to execute an on-the-spot dance number, and facial expression are all features the directors look for at BC auditions, according to Jorgensen.
“It is student leadership,” said Bielski, which means, according to Jorgensen, that “it is completely run by the students.”
“We could not do it without them,” Jorgensen says.
Vocal captions train during the summer in their own homes. Lizzie Braun and David Heinrich run the dance rehearsals, and the BC spirit wear was designed by Emma Kachelmeyer, all of whom are Senior captions.
The Broadway Company is available to sophomores, juniors, and seniors by tryout.
Tickets go on sale October 29th and are sold out fast, according to directors Jorgensen and Bielski, in the community. $15 tickets are sold in the choir room or at the AHS website. Opening night for A Christmas Carol is November 4th at seven pm.
