By Mia Koopersmith & Louis Lefebvre
Moana Jr. is coming to Wayland Middle School! Students and cast members are excited about the opening night on Wednesday, March 30. Performances run all through April 2.
Since January, the cast has been preparing to show a beautiful performance filled with great songs, choreography, and bright costumes. Although Covid-19 has been lingering around the school and influenced the new date, there is no stopping this show.
This year Ms. Vanaria has taken the role of co-director alongside Ms.Lopez. During rehearsals, Ms. Vanaria is in charge of the music and Ms. Lopez usually spends her time on the stage with the choreography.
The cast is made of a combination of 6th, 7th, and 8th graders all of whom had to try out during the Fall. Maggie Agyeman who plays Moana is so excited to get on stage and perform. “My reaction when I found out I was Moana, was, well, surprised of course! I had a feeling that I’d get some sort of role after getting into the callbacks twice, but I was still in awe when I got the part,” said Maggie. Her favorite part in the play is when Maui explains that he is a demigod. Elliot O’Meara who plays Maui agrees with Maggie “He (Maui) starts annoyed and then starts sharing some of his troubling past. I find the quick change of emotion challenging so it’s got to be one of my personal favorite scenes,” said Elliot.
People were excited about callbacks and to find out what role they have been assigned. Wyeth Heilman, who plays Hei Hei, said that in his grade (7th) it was kind of like a meme to get that role and most of his peers thought of the character as dumb and with not many brain cells. Even though Wyeth agrees that “being a chicken I would say Hei Hei is not a complex character. I want to personalize my role to make it special, something that people will remember.”
The ensemble adds life to the musical with dancing and singing. More than 50 middle school students are part of the many ensembles. “I would have to say that my favorite part about ensembles is all the cool formations and choreography. Even though we won’t be the stars of the scene, it fills in the empty spots of the stage and adds to the look of the setting, as well as to what’s going on,” said Ariana Price who is part of the Village Ensemble. Teddy Lehman, who is part of the Ocean ensemble, agrees and likes hanging out with friends, listening to music, and dancing.
Moana Jr. promises, so make sure you get your tickets and enjoy the show! Showtimes:
Wednesday, March 30 at 3:00 p.m.
Thursday, March 31 at 5:30 p.m.
Friday, April 1 at 5:30 p.m.
Saturday, April 2 at 12:30 p.m.
