Groton High School Drama Club brings ‘Hello, Dolly!’ to the stage

Boasting a cast and crew of more than 35 students, ranging from sixth through 12th grade, another fabulous musical will grace the stage of Groton Jr./Sr. High School’s (GHS) auditorium under the direction of the GHS Drama Club Director, Annette Twitchell, for the 19th year in a row.

Twitchell brought musicals back to the Groton stage for the first time in two decades with “The Wizard of Oz” in 2006. Each year since, talented students have wowed our town with some amazing musical productions.

This year promises to be no exception. “Hello, Dolly!” will open on Thursday, March 14 and will also run Friday and Saturday, March 15-16, at 7 p.m. nightly.

“Since I became the musical director 19 years ago, it has been on my list of preferred shows to perform,” Twitchell said. “I am so grateful to have the opportunity to finally do it with this wonderful cast and crew!”

The original story behind the show is the play “The Matchmaker” by Thornton Wilder. This play, written in 1954, ran on Broadway for 486 performances and was later adapted into the record-breaking musical “Hello, Dolly!” This year marks the 60th anniversary of its premiere on Broadway in 1964, when it won 10 Tony awards.

The student talent that abounds in this Groton show certainly rivals Broadway!

Horace Vandergelder, a wealthy merchant in 19th-century Yonkers, New York, will be played by Drew Bush. Horace decides to take a wife and employs a matchmaker, Mrs. Dolly Levi, played by Megan Cute, to find the right woman. Dolly subsequently becomes involved with two of Vandergelder’s clerks, Cornelius Hackl (Andrew Saam) and Barnaby Tucker (Noble Snyder), several lovely ladies and the head waiter at an expensive restaurant, where this swift farce runs headlong into hilarious complications. After everyone else gets straightened out romantically, Vandergelder finds himself the perfect wife, and Dolly is able to move forward with her life after many years of being alone.

“Playing Horace is a great opportunity for my senior year to play a character of this caliber,” Bush said. “It’s a big role for only my second year acting, and a challenge because he is very different from my personality, but a welcome one. It’s a very classic show — meant to be a comedy, but there’s a lot you can take from it that is not necessarily funny. We have an excellent cast that works well together, and it really feels like we’re going back to the time when it was set.”

Cute added that she thinks the show has everything that a show should have — fun, humor, happiness and sentimental and heartwarming moments that the audience will love.

“This show is absolutely everything to me,” Cute said. “It’s a dream come true. Ever since the first show I was in, “Annie,” I have always wanted to play a lead role. I love being in the spotlight and becoming a different person. I had never seen this show before, but I fell in love with it the first time I saw it. I believe it will be one of the best shows in this area and possibly in Groton’s history. It has the perfect cast for every part.”

Snyder said he is very grateful to have been given a supporting lead role as a freshman, and Saam, who is a senior, is having a great time being a clerk alongside Snyder.

“This is a lot different than the other shows I’ve been in,” Snyder said. “`Les Mis’ was sad, `Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat’ was a party in a musical, and this show is more set on one theme. It’s very colorful with all the dresses and parasols, especially the parade and Sunday Clothes scenes, and it’s going to be amazing. I like playing a goofy character, like Barnaby. I have a lot of excitement in me, so I like that I can be excited and loud.”

“It’s fun for me because Cornelius gets to mess around a lot.” Saam said. “His movements and gestures are somewhat challenging, and there are a lot of lines to learn. It’s stressful, but fun. There is a lot of funny stuff that will happen and a great-sounding cast. With Mrs. Twitchell directing, it’s going to be good!”

The other main characters and the students who will be playing those roles are Irene Molloy (Julia Garcia), Minnie Fay (Brynn Blasz), Ermengarde (Diella Niño), Ambrose Kemper (Logan Dunn), Ernestina Money (Arianna Rumpff), Rudolph Reisenweber and Coachman (Justin Batzer in a dual role), Mrs. Rose and Clerk (Lena Brehm in a dual role), Stanley and Paper Hanger (Tristin Weeks in a dual role), First Cook (Derran Morris), Second Cook (Jack Ingram), Judge (Tristan McCracken), Policemen (Willow Orr and Tristin Weeks) and the Horse (Makanzee Cain and Tigerlily Leblanc).

Batzer said he plans to study theater in college because he believes that is what he is good at. He feels it’s a good challenge to learn to speak in a French accent to play Rudolph, the head waiter, and he thinks that this is one of the better shows Groton has done recently “because it has actual lines in it and not just music.”

Garcia and Blasz work closely together as the ladies whose characters are the love interests of Cornelius and Barnaby.

“I am enjoying playing Irene Malloy a lot,” Garcia said. “She goes from being very reserved to more outgoing, and I like her evolution. It’s very inspiring to me because it shows that you can change and be a better person at any age in life. `Hello, Dolly!’ is a very entertaining and witty show, while also holding a lot of deeper meaning.”

“Playing Minnie Faye is a little complicated because she’s not what I am like at all!” Blasz said. “Minnie is very childlike and ditzy, so channeling that personality is challenging. This show is amazing because there are a lot of main parts for a lot of different people. It’s a fun play, and people won’t be bored!”

Bush, Cute, Saam, Garcia, Blasz and Batzer are all seniors, as is Rumpff, who will play Ernestina Money. Michaela Canady and Lia Perrault are seniors on the stage crew, so all nine will leave the Groton stage after this academic year.

“Ernestina is really different from other characters I’ve played,” Rumpff said. “She’s loud and eccentric with a big personality, and it’s fun to open my confidence to play such a loud character. This show is going to be fun to watch. It’s going to be good because all our voices combine so well, and it sounds really nice.”

Leah Bogart, Peyton Conger, Trey Dwyer, Jeyden Hlywa, Aurora Komala, De’Anna Mackey, Josephine Ross and Brooklan Strange all fill various roles in the ensemble, and all are incredibly talented.

This show is going to be an amazing, family-friendly, really-happy-that-you-went kind of thing. I know I won’t miss it! Admission is $10, $5 for children under age 10. To order tickets now, email Kelly Bishop at kbishop@grotoncs.org or call 607-898-5803 weekdays from 3 to 4:30 p.m. TIckets may also be purchased at the door.

Groton on the Inside appears every week in Tompkins Weekly. Submit story ideas to editorial@vizellamedia.com or text or call Linda at 607-227-4922. 

In brief:

Pre-Kindergarten registration

Groton Elementary School is in the process of preparing for incoming students for pre-kindergarten this fall. Eligibility requires that your child reside in the Groton Central School district, and New York State immunization requirements for the program must be met.

If your child’s birthday falls between Dec. 2, 2020 and Dec. 1, 2021, he or she is eligible for the 3-year-old class. Eligibility for the 4-year-old class requires a birthday to fall between Dec. 2, 2019 and Dec. 1, 2020.

Programs will be held at Groton Elementary School and begin in September. There is no charge. Bus transportation is available for all 4-year-olds, but there is no transportation provided for 3-year-olds.

The 4-year-old program will operate on the same calendar and hours as the rest of the elementary school; as will the 3-year-old program, but there are two half-day sessions: a morning class and an afternoon class.

Selection will be determined by a lottery process. Children who are currently enrolled in the 3-year-old program will have an automatic seat in a 4-year-old classroom. The 4-year-old program has 54 seats, while the 3-year-old program has 12 each in the morning and afternoon classes. To obtain a registration packet, contact the school office at 607-898-5853.

Kindergarten registration

Groton Elementary School is in the process of preparing for next year’s kindergarten class. If you have a child who is eligible for entry to school in September 2024, call 607-898-5853 to register him or her. A child must have been born on or before Dec. 1, 2019 to be eligible to begin school this September. 

Library news

The monthly meeting of the Groton Public Library Board of Trustees will be held at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 14, and is open to the public. For more information, call 607-898-5055 or email director@grotonpubliclibrary.org.