When most people think of musical theater, they think of over-the-top songs, costumes and dances. They also tend to think of perfect, in-sync performers, who always manage to look stunning eight shows a week.
But, as any performer can tell you, perfection comes from hours of cleaning songs and dances and waiting. Lots of waiting.
In the past week of “Sweeney Todd” rehearsals, Mr. Justin Baldridge worked with the cast tirelessly to deep clean and work every number. This process requires starting, stopping and restarting numbers and scenes in order to ensure perfection on stage.
Freshman Ellie Steinberg believes that taking time to clean each number to the extent Mr. Baldridge does is incredibly important for both the cast and the show as a whole.
“I think it’s important that we spend time cleaning little details, because every part of the show counts,” she said. “All numbers have to be at the same level of energy and readiness to perform, and it makes our show look even better than before.”
With only three weeks left until opening, the cast and crew are working tirelessly every rehearsal to ensure a great show.
Freshman Oliver Barret said that while he doesn’t feel ready for the show’s opening in three weeks at the moment, the feeling of being unprepared isn’t unusual for a show.
“I think it’s rare that anyone feels prepared for a show,” he said. “‘Sweeney’ is such a behemoth of a show, and three weeks feels like no time. Good news is that I’ve felt this way for almost every show I’ve done and managed to do fine.”
In the next three weeks of rehearsal, the cast and crew look forward to putting all of the finishing touches on the show and finally getting to display all of their hard-work.
“I think I am always more ready for it than I think by the time opening comes around,” Barret said. “The vibe for a while now amongst the cast has been that everyone is scared out of their minds, but I choose to believe that we’ll do well. It’s such a talented group of actors. I’d be surprised if we didn’t do amazing.”
