Elkhart High School - Pennant Yearbook (Elkhart, IN)

Page 32 text:

LEFT SERIES— Mike Talman {Barry Weav- er) threatens Suzy Hendrii (Ann Bomeman) because she won ' t tell him where she hid a doll containing a half million dollars worth of heroin. Suzy gets rid of Mike but Harry Boat Jr. (Mark Szobody) comes for the doll and, after some pers uasion, she gives the doll to him and backs up for a knife. After she stabs him, the story ends as the policeman (Kurt Free) arrives and she runs to her hus- band ' s (Joe Thompson ' s) arms. BELOW — Soon after Hello, Dolly , inductions were held for the new thespians. Also included in the ceremony was a reading and the showing of slides from the musical.

Page 31 text:

Talent plus style equals excellent production With certainty. Hello Dolly was the greatest and most elaborate perfor- mance presented in this schooFs audi- torium. Approximately $6,000 was used in the purchase of scenery, ma- terial, costumes and other expenses. Regardless of this huge amount, there was still a considerable profit shown. There can be only one expla- nation for such a tremendous success in a high school production and that is this: it didn ' t look like a high school production. Elaborate sets weren ' t the only rea- son for this. As the director said, the students were able to assume the char- acters of the people they portrayed. A constant reminder was stay in character and this was well done . . . almost to a professional degree Try Outs Try-outs were held Sept. 4, 5, and 6 and rehearsals started soon after- wards. From then on, the cast and crew became part of a separate world to which a majority of their time and work was devoted. Words and songs were memorized and dances were learned. Sets and cos- tumes were made and an enthusiastic group managed to get about 200 patrons. As Nov. 17, opening night, ap- proached, it was hard to believe that the time had come to pull everything together and put on a show. That is what happened and it was more than successful. Memorable Scenes Dolly opened on a large, enthuiastic audience who loved it immediately from the first scene to the last. Some of the more memorable scenes in- clude: It Take a Woman , Sunday Clothes , Waiter ' s Gallop , Pa- rade , and of course, Hello Dolly . The show ended with a standing ovation and a lot of praise from the first nighters. This praise didn ' t go unheard and the show was sold out for its last two nights with requests for an additional show. Hello Dolly!, directed and choreo- graphed by Mrs. Ann McDougall, star- red Trudy Scamehorn. Trudy ' s range and voice quality, acting ability, and personableness all added up to make her an excellent choice for this part. Barry Weaver played the part of Hor- ace and his deep voice aand logical attitude blended handsomely for this male lead. Major Roles Otlier major roles were held by John Quinn. Phil Baldwin, Ann Cover, and Nancy Peterson, Jen Cunningham. Don Deferbrache, Jeri Enimer- son, Melody Owens, and Bruce Andresen also had important character parts. The understudies, Jan Harreld and Dan Eggles- ton, botli did an excellent job of stepping in when Barry was away and Trudy ' s voice left, although lliey were never required for a per- formance. .AH the singing and dancing chorus people were both enthusiastic and talented. The dancing girls included: Beth Batten, Jan Harreld. Patrice Mason, Ijiz Naquin, Jane Swi- hart, Nancy Bissell, Boni Borgaard, Barb Carmen, Sue Nye. Melody Owens. Carol Rooker, Linda Stone, Stevie Suther, and Betsy Williams. The agile males consisted of Bruce Andresen, Pat Cataldo, Paul Hutb, Tom Jackson, Denny Krauser, Jim McNeile, Mark Mowery, Bob Sipe, Mark .Szobody who were the waiters and also Kurt Free. Hugh Morison, Tim Ritchie, and Dan Eggleston. Members of the girls ' singing chorus included Nancy Buenzli, Judy Blinn, Sandy Gosling, Kathy Houghton. Gina Pavoni. Sarah Sample, Kris Schwerha, Gayle Weaver and Leslie Wells. All the males also sang. Tremendous assistance was offered bv both faculty and students in the areas of scenery, costmncs, and directing by such people as Mr. Morgan, Mr. McDougall. Mr. Geyer. Mr. Emery, Miss Frey. Mrs. Queen. Mrs. Evers, Mr. Gowdy, Mrs. Tally. Mr. Jester. Ron Montandon, John Banks, Mike Nagy, Mrs. Reiff, Mary Malone, Rick Goad. Trudy Scamehorn, Melody Owens, Gayle Weaver, and Mrs. Brownwell. The stage managers were Joe Thompson and Mary Berkshire and the business manager was Lee Congdon. A lot of time and talent was also donoted by Becky Broadbent who was the re- hearsal accompanist. Of course, the show could not have made it without all the people who gave their time to work on the stage crew, set construction, props, lights, programs, publicity, tickets, ushers, and costumes. The orchestra was also an important part of the show and added a good musical frame on which the chorus could build. All in all. Hello Dolly! was an ex- cellent show and will long be remem- bered with praises from people who saw it. As one cast member said, It was a blast! I ' ll never forget it as long as I live. ABOVE — There ' s a pause in the dress rehearsal as Mrs. Ann McDougall and Mr. Dave Morgan offer suggestions and criticisms to the cast. 21

Page 33 text:

From ' Dolly to ' GodspeW BELOW — Ms. Ann McDougall presents John Quinn with an award for his many per- formances in musical theatre at Elkhart Central High. I Hello, Dolly was just the first major accomplishment of the theatre department this year. Soon after the musical, there were inductions held for all those students who had earned enough points to become a member of the International Thespian Society. As the year progressed, there was the annual Qiildrens ' Theatre pro- duction. Alice in Wonderland was chosen as the play that 1400 ele- mentary students came to see. Gayle Weaver had the lead as Alice. Wait Until Dark was the ser- ious production of the year with Ann Bomeman playing a blind girl in a story of terror. Harvey was next as a hiunor- ous play starring Brad Barden type- cast as Elwood P. Dowd. In a two day combined effort, the Thespians sponsored the talent show, Ham-n-Cheese; and the drama festival the next day. Included in the festival were GodspeU , Sand- box , Impromptu , and Diary of Ann Frank . The year ended in a banquet in which awards for the year were pre- sented. Ron Montandon (for his work with lighting) and Trudy Scamehom (for her lead in Hello, Dolly and her work as president of Central ' s Thespian Chapter) re- ceived the highest award possible: best thespian. Outstanding contribution in the- atre awards were presented to Joel Digirolamo (sound engineer). Mel- ody Owens (costuming of Hello, DoUy ), John Quinn (performance in musical theatre), Elizabeth Na- quin (choreography of God- speU ), and Barry Weaver (achievement in acting). Also on the agenda at the ban- quet was the election of the new of- ficers, a light show, and a slide show of the year ' s highlights. Plans are already being made for next year ' s musical, Camelot . ABOVE — Cast and crew members from many years have autographed the false prosceniums during rehearsals and performances for pos- terity ' s sake. BOTTOM SERIES— Elwood P. Dowd (Brad Barden) places a picture of Harvey above the fireplace and later ends up at the psychia- trist ' s office with the nurse (Sandy Elting), attendant (Bruce Andresen), and Dr. San- derson (Denny Krauser). Later the attorney (Jeff Lint), Myrtle May (Becky Broa fl)ent), and Dr. Chumley (Bop Sipe) try to straighten the whole mess out. It is the cab driver (Lee (]ongdon) who finally convinces Elwood ' s sister (Beth Batten) that Elwood is perhaps more sane than any of the normal charac- ters in the play. 23