UPDATE! SCROLL DOWN TO SEE A SNEAK PEAK OF DRESS REHEARSAL
Join us as the Nordonia Drama Club heads West to the territory this spring with their spring production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Oklahoma! You simply “Cain’t Say No” to this truly iconic American musical, which originally debuted on Broadway 75 years ago and revolutionized the standard for musical theatre into what we know today. People will say they’re in love with this production as our cast takes on classic standards such as, “Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin’,” “Farmer and the Cowman,” and the title song “Oklahoma!”.
This year’s cast of 35 is led by seniors Bradford Zinn and Kayleigh Wisniewski as Curly and Laurey. It also features Nolan Tater as Will Parker, Jamie Brasdovich as Ado Annie, Hannah Ford as Aunt Eller, Dan Bowser as Jud Fry, and Anthony Strong as Ali Hakim. The ensemble of farmers, cowmen and dancers take on some of the biggest dance numbers the Drama Club has ever attempted! See the great interview by Brooke Tyukodi in the above video!
In addition to the cast, offstage there are another 50 students working tirelessly as members of the crews, running tech, and playing in the orchestra, without whom there would be no show. This year, we are thrilled to once again be participating in the Dazzle Awards at Playhouse Square! The Dazzle Awards are high school musical theatre awards for Northeast Ohio, and after our two nominations for last year’s production of Les Misérables, we are thrilled to once again have the opportunity to showcase the incredible talent at Nordonia! The two nominations were: Best Actor for Sam Fujikawa who played Marius. And Best Student Orchestra. While we did not win either category, Sam did perform a song from our show on the Connor Palace stage as part of the Dazzle Awards ceremony.
Helming this year’s musical production is Nordonia High School’s Director of Drama, Chris Simmons. Megan Gargano serves as Assistant Director and Choreographer while Ben Malkevitch serves as Musical Director. Dane Leasure will also be returning as Fight Choreographer and Acting Coach.
Performances of this year’s production of Oklahoma! will be: Friday and Saturday, April 20th and 21st at 7:30 PM and Sunday, April 22nd at 3 PM. There will also be a free preview performance for senior citizens on Thursday, April 19th at 4 PM. Tickets will be available to the public starting on March 12th. Reserved seating is $15 a ticket and General Admission tickets are $8 for students, $10 for senior citizens, and $12 for adults. Please visit www.nordoniadrama.com for more information on the show and to reserve your tickets!
Dress Rehearsal Video by Matthew Simonitis
