844 stories from The Journal News
Full disclosure: Peekskill director Scarlett Antonia is not a big fan of “Little Shop of Horrors.” The show was selected before Antonia—who breathed life into PeekskillR…
When Audrey II, the giant, man-eating plant that dominates and animates “Little Shop of Horrors,” talks, people listen. Even when she’s still in the crate. When director St…
You can’t stage “Hairspray,” Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman’s musical retelling of the John Waters film, without great choreography — and Mahopac High School ha…
Scott Zimmerman has been shepherding musicals at New Rochelle High School for a long spell. For 28 years, he has been collaborating with kids, many of whom are part of the school’s PAV…
Hastings High School broke new ground five years ago, presenting a floor-shaking production of White Plains native Jonathan Larson’s breakthrough musical, “Rent.” This year…
Thomas Steccato has played his share of characters in his time at Iona Prep in New Rochelle. Last year, he played the confident window-washer J. Pierrepont Finch in “How to Succeed in …
There are 303 kids in Horace Greeley High School’s Class of 2014. This weekend, you can be precisely certain where at least 220 of them will be. They’ll be on stage at Greeley, t…
Rehearsal hasn’t started yet. The Tinman’s on his cellphone. The Scarecrow’s practicing scary looks. And Toto’s getting lots of attention. Welcome to “The Wizar…
In a school year that has seen controversy over a Connecticut school’s production of “Rent: School Edition,” John Jay High School—where a student was once reprimanded…
Coming to Croton-Harmon High School’s stage this weekend is perhaps the most famous musical ever made about a labor-management dispute. It’s “The Pajama Game,” and it…
Not a lot of musicals begin without knowing how they’re going to end. “The Mystery of Edwin Drood,” the unfinished Charles Dickens story that Rockland native Rupert Holmes …
Another weekend, another East Ramapo school district high school presenting “In the Heights.” This weekend, it’s Spring Valley, following in the footsteps of crosstown coun…
Devon James knows what it’s like to carry a show. He was a standout at Harrison High School. Now, he’s directing at Port Chester High School, which presents the wickedly funny sa…
Anthony DeMarte was underdressed, but suitably so. There he was, as Don Lockwood, bidding farewell to his girlfriend, Kathy (Gabbie Sansone), in a downpour, wearing a tanktop and swim trunks…
“You’re going out there a youngster, but you’ve got to come back … a star!” It’s one of my favorite lines, a charmingly cornball expression of moxie perfe…
The day I dropped in at Brewster High School, they were working on high-energy number called “Ugg-a-Wugg,” in which the native princess Tiger Lily joins forces with Peter Pan and…
After touring four musicals on Monday—and intending to get to four more Tuesday—I was felled by the flu. I’m now able to lift my head enough to try to post all the Running …
There’s something exciting about opening night, but things at Ossining High School were a bit extra special tonight, as “Legally Blonde: The Musical” marks the opening of a…
This year, Ramapo and Spring Valley high schools, which are in the East Ramapo School district and sit three miles apart, present the same musical on consecutive weekends. In a cool arrangem…
When two schools are three miles apart, you might expect a rivalry when it comes to their high-school musicals But this year, East Ramapo School District’s two high schools — Ram…
Sometimes, you make a musical fit your cast. When director Edie Ann Reidy chose “Legally Blonde” as The Ursuline School’s spring musical, she knew that the piece’s he…
Producer Rob Jacoby measures the success of Alexander Hamilton High School’s theater program in one very tangible way. He doesn’t have to go out and drag kids off the practice fi…
I wish Studs Terkel had met the three teachers who have breathed life into the musicals at Hendrick Hudson High School for the past seven years. They might have made it into a loving tribute…
Some kids you can pick out of a lineup as “theater kids.” They’ve got a twinkle in their eye. Or maybe all those bright lights have left a glow on their cheek. Whatever its…
“The Drowsy Chaperone” is chockfull of over-the-top and memorable characters, from a showstopping star to a “blue” man in a comfy chair, to a Latin lover and a couple…
