Weldon E Howitt High School - Hi Life Yearbook (Farmingdale, NY)

Page 27 text:

y ».n j Salesman All Hakim (Mike Oxman) can't seem to sell his merchandise to a resistant Aunt Ella (Eileen Connolly). Illusions of romance fill Laurie's (Liz Fol lett) head as Curley (Glen White) describes his imaginary surrey ride. A surprised Curley (Glen White) looks pre cariously on at Judd (Ken Ryan) whose shotgun poses a threat to his romantic dreams. A mad Will Parker (Larry Abuhoff) watch es as Ali Hakam (Mike Oxman) gives a Persian Goodbye to Ado Annie (Virginia DeSimone) Play 23

Page 26 text:

Marital bliss can be seen on the faces of Curley and Laurie Connelly (Glen White and Liz Follett) as they finally realize their dream of taking a ride in the Surrey with the Fringe on the Top. The exciting Can-Can girls. Kath) McGuckin and Grace Delligatli. did noi prove to be a deterrent for Curley's affec tion for Laurie. Oklahoma OKI As the last notes of the overture rang through the auditorium and the curtain rose, a powerful tenor voice could be heard singing “Oh what a beautiful morning!” Cheers came from the audience as Curly, Glenn White, senior, walked onto the stage. The performance seemed to be off to a perfect start except for one small problem- —Curly was unable to open the fence! Without losing his cool, our hero thought quickly and climbed over the fence as though nothing had happened. What could have been a omen turned into a favor- able sign as the audience seemed to respond to the incident with en- thusiasm. Oklahoma was off to a winning, if unusual, start. For those watching the show it was a thoroughly enjoyable even- ing. But what was it like to be on the performing side of this theater experience? Larry Abuhoff, a sen- ior who played Will Parker, relat- ed, “I was extremely nervous. You don’t know what people will think; you are your own worst critic.” Liz Follett, senior, who played the lead, Laurie, commented, You must be on stage to experience what the audience is like; you can play up to that.” Despite the nervousness and precurtain jitters, for most cast members Oklahoma was a re- warding experience. I felt such a closeness with everyone in the play, especially on the nights we performed. There’s a certain elec tricity in the air before a perfor- mance which really makes every- one very close to each other. There is nothing like it, Sue Kes- tenbaum, junior, explained. It is this very closeness that the Playcrafters feel for each other which made closing night all the more difficult. Jeanine Ingrassia, junior, said, There is something very special about closing night. We all know it is the last time we will all perform together. It’s a very emotional experience to go on the stage knowing that, and it can be very upsetting, but as they say It is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.’ The romantic dance sequence proved to be a very dramatic one as well. Here the two lead dancers. Stephen Guarino and Jill Niemczyk, perform an intense lift. 22 Play

Page 28 text:

19 December 1981 With the obtrusive clang of a bell, first period had begun. Students straggled in and threw themselves into their seats. The teacher slammed an iron hand down on his desk to end all other activities. Notebooks opened, texts arose. All attention focused on factoring some obscure bunch of numbers. My attention wandered elsewhere. A bag of M M’s cleverly sand- wiched inside some kid's notebook held a magical lure for me. As the teacher droned on about the prophecies of Pythagoras, a hungry hand silently reached out, fingers desperately pushing and probing to reach that all important bag of M M s. Going without breakfast can drive anyone to desperation. The M M's dangled just beyond my reach. So close, yet so far..... It was not the passing bell that sent me swiftly out of the room. It was hunger—quickening, crazed hunger. I popped gum from a girls purse, stole Starbursts from some hapless fool's back pocket, snatched a Snickers from an unsuspecting sophomore, when suddenly it hit me—I was a junk food junkie. I needed a fix desperately! I frantically searched the halls for the neighborhood supplier, one of those Angels of Mercy selling candy bars for some teacher's Abscond-to-Florida fund. A soda, a pretzel. Some- thing, anything! Nothing could be found. From the dim annals of my memory, a quote came to me and I yelled through the commons, My kingdom for a Coke! No response. I huddled in a corner and closed my eyes, visions of Doritos dancing in my head. I could almost here the Devil whispering in my ear, Give me your eternal soul and the cafeteria is yours! Desperately I darted to the cafeteria and pawned my soul for a bagel, a bag of potato chips and a fruit drink. So what if I needed the money for my elderly grandmother's hernia operation? She'd get over it. I just needed the fix because I'm .... a junk food junkie!!