MIDVALE, UT — “The Phantom of the Opera” rehearsals are kicking into high gear this Monday, Feb. 2, with the production set to open later this February. With all of the Performing Arts department involved, from ballets to a live orchestra to operatic singing, this year’s school wide musical is promising to be quite the show.
Students have been hopping around the B hall for the past couple of months as each department has started to work out their contribution to the production.
“Right now there are a bunch of people working in a bunch of different rooms,” says Joshua Long, the theatre teacher and the director. Next week, all those different groups are going to merge as tech week starts, where actors, orchestra, and dancers all meet on the set for the first time. “Monday we start to put it all together.”
Some actors, like the leads, have been practicing for months on the vocals alone.
“Vocally, this is nothing like I’ve ever done,” says Myka Hopkin, who is playing the role of Carlotta. “I don’t usually sing coloratura soprano (Very high), I sing mezzo soprano, middle soprano. I can sing high, I didn’t think I could sing an E6.”
“The Phantom of the Opera” is not know just for it’s difficult music, but also for its over the top effects. Long said, “Ms. Dalgliesh’s job and Ms. Gremmert’s job for this show are a little bit heavier than they normally are.” Still, the tech students are hard at work getting ready for Monday.
“Our lighting system has something called Augment3D, which lets us make a 3D model of the auditorium that we can then hang our lights in virtually,” says Rowan Willis, the set designer and assistant stage manager for “Phantom.” This allows them to figure out how to hang the lights and not waste time doing it in real life and making a mistake, cutting their work load. But it isn’t all sunshine and daisies, some projects are stalling out, like the chandelier.
“Since we can’t get parts for it for the life of us, it’s turning into a nightmare,” Willis says. He’s confident it will get done however, and he’s excited to give the audience a bit of a scare.
The community will be able to see the final product starting Thursday, Feb. 19, with the middle schools getting a special matinee the day before.
“Your going to walk into the auditorium and you’re gonna see the fricking Palais Garnier from Paris, France,” says Hopkin. Willis and Hopkin both encourage the community to come see the show. Tickets are available on the Hillcrest Theatre website.
