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Schools

Pier School Wows Crowds With The Wiz

Narragansett Pier School performed three outstanding shows of The Wiz the weekend of March 1. Follow the yellow brick road - well, this review - to learn more!

Every community has a hidden gem in their own backyard just waiting to be discovered.  Here in beautiful Narragansett we are surrounded with the picturesque landscape of incredible beaches, charming seaside parks, historical landmarks, and the warmth of a close-knit community.

Our school system is small, therefore making it possible for a real “hometown” feel when it comes to the support of our academics, sporting events, and other extra-curricular activities where we all come together to rally our youth and students in these various areas.

Students all have their own niche when it comes to finding their comfort zones and seeking out a place in the community that makes them shine.  For many, that avenue is sports, but for many others, it’s expressing their creative voices in the realm of the arts. 

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The Narragansett Pier School’s theater program is that little, hidden gem that has grown over the past four years and after this year’s performance of The Wiz, it doesn’t look like it will be concealed for too long. 

Not even the unexpected invasion of Nemo in February, which forced The Wiz to postpone their opening night and push performances off until the weekend of March 1st, could slow down the momentum and amazing delivery of this professional performance which was made possible by the tremendous trio of Vanessa Miller, Enrichment teacher at NPS and Producer of the play, Director Jimmy Calitri, and Choreographer, former Narragansett student, Chelsea Cook.  In addition, this year the theater program hired Musical Director, Jonathan Audette who is currently a Piano Performance major in his senior year at the University of Rhode Island. 

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This is Miller’s fourth year producing these riveting performances at The Pier School and she is still on cloud 9 after this past weekend’s performance.  “This is the first year that we used a live orchestra and it was the icing on the cake. The Wiz itself is a full-length play. It is not a junior version. We really upped the ante and gave the kids a great challenge with this. They nailed it!”

The lead cast was the main pulse of the show, but the supporting cast and stage crew were just as vital to the success!  The entire ensemble:  Pit musicians, Make-Up, amazing set and props, Sound Technicians, Lighting Technicians, Seamstresses, Backstage Crew, House Management, and school and parent volunteers were instrumental in making this phenomenal production the blockbuster that it was.

The character of Dorothy was played by 8th grade student, Makayla Corrigan.  Corrigan took the role of Dorothy to a mind blowing new level with her poise, grace, melodic vocals, and sincere personality.  Her mesmerizing stage presence delivered confidence, radiance, and such an instant likeability that she drew her audience in from the moment she sashayed on the stage in her gingham country dress.

The scarecrow was refreshingly played by 8th grader, Joseph Santos.  He had the audience eating out of his straw hands with the first whimsical gesture he made to Dorothy while hanging from his post in the field.  The talented musical crow ensemble added to the whimsy and entertainment value lead by the very clever Santos in delivering to us a hip-hop, irresistible version of loveable scarecrow.

Oh, the tin man!  Thanks to 7th grader Jack Ruscetta, the role of the tin man came to life with an effervescent wave of humor and panache.  Not only did Ruscetta nail the role of the heartwarming hunk of metal looking for a heart, the way he and the other characters interacted with one another and engaged the audience left us wanting more at the end of each scene.

Roarrrrrrr!  The cowardly lion, lovingly played by the boisterous and playful 7th grader Brett Doubrava had us laughing and sighing as we all craved to help him find some courage.  Doubrava worked the stage with ease—as any king of the jungle should, but he also delivered the perfect combination of wit and emotion, reminding us all of why the cowardly lion resonates to so many people, even today!

Can we talk about the Wiz now?  Johnny Manochhia is no stranger to the theatre.  Both he and his older brother Mark (Peter Pan from The Pier School’s performance 2 years ago) have worked hard at making their characters as believable and real as possible.  There are almost no words to describe the superb job Manocchia did this year as the cunning, mysterious, all mighty Wizard of Oz!  He was in sync with the audience from the moment he rolled on to the stage!  His one-liners, fancy movements, and enticing performance as the one and only Wiz blew the audience out of the water.  And the boy can rock the color green!

By no means are the above roles any less amazing than the characters of Aunt Em, Uncle Henry (guest appearances by NHS’s Rachel Sylvia and Ryan Field) and the evil but loveable withces Evillene and Addaperle, the hilarious Gatekeeper, the funky Flying Monkey, the glamorous Glinda the Good Witch, the leaping Lord High Underling and the sassy Soldier’s Messenger.  And what about those incredibly sweet and talented munchkins?  Oz wouldn’t be the same without them!  Those crooning crows, delightful Yellow Brick Road Leads, the whacky Mice Police, and of course, the enchanting Lead Poppies and stoic Lead Citizens—combined with the Wiz Ensemble—it was a glorious and magnificent effort of pure genius!

The Wiz was brought to such lofty heights because of the accumulation of such imaginative costumes, dazzling make-up artistry, jazzy choreography, dramatic live music, and delightful interaction of all the supporting cast members when they danced, sang which continually made the entire audience gasp, and say aloud “This is a middle school production?  It couldn’t be!”

The 14 scenes from both Acts One and Two went by far too quickly, always leaving the audience wanting more.  The fresh charm of the actors, the poetic singing both solo numbers and group acts, and above all, the passion and sensual attention to every detail that this entire performance delivered will likely make this year’s Pier School production of The Wiz go down in history as one of the most outstanding plays that the community of Narragansett has ever witnessed.

A theater program of this magnitude does not come together without the steadfast efforts of the devoted leaders who bring the absolute best out of these dynamic students for such a performance.  This includes the unconditional and committed efforts of the parents and families involved who helped make this possible as well.

Here’s a bit of background information about the Directors etc. of the play:

Vanessa Miller, Producer:  “I hired Jimmy my first year and the program has nothing but grown since then. We brought Chelsea on my second year, and Jonathon on board this year. Other of my responsibilities is the communication with the parents, volunteers, scheduling with the school district, selling and advertising tickets, and trying to make this the best middle school theatre program we can possibly offer!”

This year, we did something different too. We applied for The New England Theatre Conference which is:

The New England Theatre Conference is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing its members with professional services, career development, and recognition awards in the live theater arts. Serving Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont, NETC proudly supports quality theatre and promotes excellence in all divisions of theatre. A recognized voice for practitioners in youth, secondary, university, community and professional theatre, NETC continues to expand its support of New England theatre in addition to nurturing and promoting new theatre activity.

Founded in 1952 by the legendary Boston drama critic Elliot Norton who believed that theatre activists had much to offer one another, NETC was established as the place to learn and share that knowledge. From this simple premise NETC has grown into a dynamic force in New England theater

Two reviewers from the NETC came to our play on Saturday night and they were full of positive feedback about how well our program incorporates the community. They were very happy to hear that we featured 2nd graders, high schoolers, and one college alum in our performance. They mentioned the wonderful movement our choreographer was able to create with the students, complemented our costumes (Dorothy’s costume was rented from URI, Lion, Scarecrow were homemade by some wonderful parents, Tinman was Jimmy’s but adapted by Mrs. Ruscetta, Glinda was donated by Rachel Benz, and I compiled the rest of the costume scheme from Ann O’Grady’s basement of wonderful options!) as well as the makeup (lead by Marilyn Corrigan, Georgina Santos, and myself with a middle school crew). Our sound man was Matthew Hultquist, a junior at NHS. We were lucky enough to have Christine Moore bring her theatrical background to help us both on stage and behind the scenes working with the backstage crew.

Jimmy Calitri (Director/ Actor) holds an A.D. in Studio Art and Design, a B.A. in Theater Performance, a B.A. in Art History and Design, and an M.F.A. in Performance in Society from Rhode Island College. He is an adjunct faculty member and director in the University of Rhode Island and Rhode Island College Theatre Departments. His recent acting credits include appearances in Miss Pixie’s Local Cable Access Holiday Extravaganza at the Sandra Feinstein-Gamm Theatre, URI’s musical productions, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling BeeCompany by Stephen Sondheim, and Mambo Italiano (an alumni production at Rhode Island College). At URI Jimmy recently directed Boy Gets Girl and also served as Associate Director for Singing in the Rain, Little Women, Oklahoma,and Rocky Horror. This past February Jimmy directed Lend Me a Tenor at Providence College which was recently nominated for two Motiff Magazine awards forBest Director and Best Production for 2012. Jimmy also directed A Lie of the Mind and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? at Perishable Theater the past two seasons. The latter was named ‘Best of Theater in 2010’ by The Phoenix Newspaper and ‘Best Professional Production of 2010‘ by Motif Magazine. Favorite past directing jobs include A Midsummer Night’s DreamAssassins the MusicalMiss JulieThe Taming of the Shrew, and A-MIRROR-CA: A Critical Burlesque on America’s Media-Driven Culture which was recently revived at RIC and received multiple awards at the KCACTF National acting competition in Washington DC including Best Conception of an Original Work, Best Playwrighting, and Best Ensemble. It also earned a performance slot this spring at the Hyannis Region One Festival for the KCACTF national acting competition. In past Summer seasons at ‘Festival 56’ (outside of Chicago in Princeton Illinois) Jimmy directedSongs for a New World, and Alfred Hitchcock’s The 39 Steps. Jimmy recently directed The Miracle Worker at Rhode Island College which lived on in Plymouth MA in condensed form this January at an International Fundraiser honoring Helen Keller. Upcoming events include You Can’t Take it with You at Narragansett High School, Curtains: The Musical at Providence College, Assassins: The Musical at the Contemporary Theater, and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream-coat outside of Chicago in Princeton, Illinios.

“This is my fourth year directing at Narragansett Pier Middle School, and what a positive and rewarding experience it has been again.  I have been fortunate to have had the opportunity to create with a cast and crew with so much talent, creativity, and heart. Through this program, students can grow in an environment that strives to build exemplary performers while gaining the foundations to be exemplary young adults!       

This year we, once again, set our goals very high. ‘The Wiz’ is a very spectacular, iconic, and in many ways difficult show to produce.  Vanessa, Chelsea, and I have been onboard conceptualizing and preparing the show since last March.  We are so fortunate this year to add Jonathan Audette to our team as Musical Director! We have a team of high school Assistant Directors (Rachel Sylvia, Rachel Benz, and Leah Benz) who have stepped up to help us conceptualize and create. The process throughout the season has been a crazy ride, with students who show determination, enthusiasm, and preparedness. Rehearsals are challenging with the goal of providing the cast with a real-life theatrical and professional experience demanding the students to be multi-taskers, discovering their strengths, working as a team, and respecting each other. The realization of this particular production is a testament to our faith in the abilities, professionalism, talents, respect, and collaborative nature of the students at NPMS. We are so very proud of each and every student, and we have no doubts you will be too as you watch them tackle a very demanding show with heart and confidence!

As we arrive at opening night, I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to a team of parents who have been relentless in helping to make our dream of ‘The Wiz’ come to fruition. Our completely talented ‘Mom Painters’ (Lesley Sylvia, Rebekah Cook, and Michaele Gauthier) have provided such time and beautiful artistry. Our ‘Dad Builders’ (Dave Field, John Kisseberth, Eddy Sylvia, and Richard Calitri) donated so much time and expertise handling with ease the building of such elaborate sets. Also, our ‘Day to Day Moms’ (Marilyn Corrigan, Barbara Ruscetta, Makayla Dubrava, Flo Abilheira, and Chris Moore) who are at all rehearsals and busy behind the scenes have been invaluable to the process and conception of this production. Finally, I would like to give special thanks to Vanessa Miller without whom none of this would be possible.


Chelsea Cook was thrilled to be choreographing at the Narragansett Pier School yet again. She has been involved in the theater arts since she was a child. She has been acting, singing, and dancing on stage as well as stage managing, directing, and choreographing. She enjoys every second she is in a theatre.  Working with the students at Pier on this year’s production of The Wiz has been an absolute pleasure.  She looks forward to continuing her work this spring at Narragansett High School working along side Jimmy Calitri and planning for the Pier School’s production for the next school year. Most recently, Chelsea has performed as Miss Hannigan in Annie; Holly in The Wedding Singer; and is currently in tech week and performing as Louise in Gypsie

Jonathan Audette is currently a Piano Performance major in his senior year at the University of Rhode Island. He graduated from Lincoln High School in 2009. During his time there, he was the Music Director of the Lincoln High School Senior Variety show. He also starred in the LHS Drama Club productions of "High School Musical" as Troy Bolton, and "Little Shop of Horrors" as Seymour Krelborn. During his high school years, Jonathan also participated in the Rhode Island Philharmonic Youth Wind Ensemble for four years, Southern New England Honors Band for one year, and All-State concert band for five years all on Bass Clarinet. Upon graduating from high school he won the Lincoln Teacher’s Association Scholarship and the John Azevideo Music Scholarship.    

At the University of Rhode Island, Jonathan has played in the Ram Marching Band, Symphonic Wind Ensemble, and Concert band on Clarinet. He has also had the pleasure of performing with the Undergraduate Honors String Quartet in their Spring 2011 and Spring 2012 concerts, on the Schumann Piano Quintet and Dvorak Piano Quintet respectively. His freshman year, he was initiated into Phi Eta Sigma, the National Honor Society. He has been awarded the Certificate of Excellence award from Pi Kappa Lambda (Music Honor Society) both his freshman and sophomore years. His Junior year, he was initiated as an active member to PKL. Last Spring, Jonathan was a scholarship winner in the Chaminade Club competition and last June, he won the Mary K. Hail Music Mansion piano performance competition. This past January, he was a young artist division competitor in the Music Teachers National Conference performance competition representing Rhode Island. In May of 2012, he was given the Kingston Chamber Music Festival Award. Jonathan is also an active member of Kappa Kappa Psi, National Honorary Band Fraternity and currently serves as the URI chapter president.

A middle school performance of this caliber would not be possible without the dedication of so many wonderful parents.  Each and every one played an important role in making this play the success that it was.  Several parents shared their gratitude about what being involved in this theater program means to them and their families:

“Narragansett Pier School's production of The Wiz was a wonderful success! Kudos to director Jimmy Calitri, Vanessa Miller, Chelsea Cook and all of the cast and crew!  We have amazing talent in Narragansett and we are fortunate enough to have a fantastic theater program in our schools.  It is a great addition to our academic program, and wonderful for the kids self esteem and growth as well! I am so happy to have had my girls in the show. It has been such a positive experience for both of them. Thank you Jimmy and Co.”      Terri Shaw 

“Chelsea Cook as the choreographer did such an amazing job and really got the kids to do some difficult routines.  She also incorporated acrobatics by Jamie Hultquist and Natalie Landy and ballet by Morgan d’ambra (all 5th graders).  The choreography took the production to another level making it really exciting to watch.”    Christine Hultquist 

Here is some footage of the amazing choreography.  (Thank you Chris!) 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0Yekne5dxg

“Participating in the Theater Program at NPMS has been a wonderful experience for my son and his friends.  It’s amazing to watch them develop and become more confident performers and young adults.  They were incredibly lucky to work with a caring and talented team,  Director - Jimmy Calitri, Choreographer - Chelsea Cook, Producer - Vanessa Miller and Musical Director - Jonathan Audette.   This year’s show The Wiz was by far our favorite and they just keep getting better every year.  We can’t wait until next year.”   Barbara Ruscetta 

“Everyone involved in the production worked very, very hard. I was extremely proud and happy to be a part of the whole process.  I always loved The Wizard of Oz and The Wiz and enjoyed singing home all the time. It was a dream come true to watch my son as the scarecrow and my niece as Dorothy. The show was nonstop entertainment, full of great acting, dancing, singing, music, costumes...everything that makes your heart race, toes tap, hands clap, booty shake and face smile. How lucky are our children to be able to showcase their talents and express themselves through great enrichment programs like theatre at NPS. Wow!”   Georgina Santos

 

“I am so proud of the entire cast and crew for coming together to present a very memorable production. I am honored to have witnessed the growth in these kids as the rehearsal process unfolded. This was one to remember for a long time. Bravo!” Marilyn Corrigan

“My role in The Wiz play was making the kids laugh and smile. As you know I am a bit silly!!! I loved watching the actors grow and the play get better and better. It was a pleasure to be in the company of this cast and crew.”   Michaela Doubrava

“I went to The Wiz Saturday night, and it was the best middle school musical I have ever seen. Everything about it was spectacular: acting, singing, dancing, accompaniment, sets, costumes. They should definitely put it on again, if possible. Everyone involved should be praised extravagantly.”  Frank White, former Narragansett School Committee Member

"Seeing Rachel, as a NHS Junior, return to where she started in the theatre program at NPS was wonderful.  We are so proud of the efforts she put forth as Assistant Director for The Wiz! We have enjoyed every moment watching Rachel blossom into a talented and poised young actress. 

We recognize and appreciate the invaluable "real world" lessons her time in the theatre has provided her... teamwork, leadership, responsibility, confidence and most importantly, the rewards of hard work.  It is my hope that all these talented children continue on and embrace our school systems amazing theatre program!  Lesley Sylvia (Aunt Em's mom)" 

If anyone is interested in purchasing a copy of the DVD of The Wiz, you can contact Vanessa Miller at vmiller@narragansett.k12.ri.us

Although The Wiz wowed us in 2013—if all goes well and Miller can obtain the rights, next year’s performance will also be a sell out—Shrek the Musical!

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