This year’s spring production was Shrek The Musical and was quite a success. The show ran from March 9th to 12th and every night the theater was packed with people of all ages ranging from young parents with their kids, teenagers, to grandparents. 

Seniors Jackie Murphy (Fiona), Luke Baker (Shrek), and Aidan Gay (Donkey) made up the main three characters in this fun show. 

Junior David Mammano played Lord Farquaad, the show’s villain, and was easily my favorite character. Not only is he a fantastic singer, but he added so much humor to his part and made everyone laugh every time he was on stage, not to mention that he did the entire show on his knees. 

I also do not feel like I can talk about a PPBHS musical without mentioning our pit orchestra. To be in the pit, you must audition, so it is filled with the best of the best musicians from not only our school but a few members of the community as well. The pit is conducted by Mr. Visco.

I went to the Friday night show on March 10th, which senior pit member and drummer Nick Coppola had dubbed “Funky Friday”. Once the theater was open to the audience, some of the pit members started to play jazz improv which really gave the audience a peek into how amazing the musicians are. I also feel like it really set the mood for the night.

I got to talk to three senior actors about their experiences with the show.

 First, I talked to Xic Tirado who played Tweedle Dee, one of the ensemble fairy tale characters. I asked them what it was like being in the ensemble and they said, “Working in the play in general, ensemble or not, was an amazing experience. I loved getting to know people that I might not have talked to otherwise. I also just loved having something to be a part of.”

I also asked them for a piece of advice for younger students who want to be involved in theater and this is what they said, “If you are really passionate about a certain play or role but aren’t sure if you can do it, just go for it. You will never know unless you try. And if you feel silly while doing it then you are doing it right.”

Next, I talked to Nikko Rivera who played the Big Bad Wolf, another one of the fairytale characters. I know he worked very hard on making this role his own, so I started by asking him what his favorite scene to be a part of was and why. Nikko described, “My favorite scene was Freak Flag where all fairytale creatures learn that being a freak is not at all a bad thing. For me, this scene was my big moment. Having my own special part to rip off my grandma gown to reveal a sparkly red dress was amazing!” And the audience also loved it, cheering for him when the change happened almost every night.

With Shrek being his final production, I asked him if there were any special moments between him and the underclassmen. Nikko explained, “There was something special about being a senior in this show. In the past, everything seemed limited to one class. In this musical, everyone was so close. No matter your age, or who you are, everybody got along. Everyone was close together.”

Finally, I talked to the leading lady herself, Jackie Murphy. Fiona was her very first Point Boro leading role and she really did amazing with the part. Her personality added so much spunk to the character, and she was a joy to watch shine on stage. I asked her if there was any song she really liked singing, and she said, “My favorite song to sing was Morning Person. For context,  Fiona has finally left the tower, it is a new day, and she sings about how happy she is about that. This was a favorite of mine because I start with a beautiful intro from the pit, then I blow up a bird, and then I pull off the antlers of a deer. It’s a very funny start, but then we have this big flashy dance number with my rat tappers… This number was so fun because we got to show off our amazing dancers within the cast and get some energy out. Morning Person was one of the most difficult but fulfilling parts of my show and I loved every moment of it.”

With Shrek being a show that caters to younger audiences, I asked her if there was a message she wanted people to get out of the show, she said, “I would like audiences to get the message, beauty comes in all different packages. You don’t have to be traditionally beautiful with the perfect hair, makeup, or body figure to be considered pretty. I believe that true beauty comes from loving other people for who they are. Makeup will melt away, but love and kindness will always stay. I honestly think that imperfections make some more beautiful because it means that they are different and unique. I want everyone to know if you saw the show or not, that you are beautiful, you are strong, and you don’t need to change anything to be worthy of love, friendship, and acceptance.”

Even just from this small handful of the cast I got to talk to, it seems like this was a really fun show to be a part of. During the curtain call, each and every person had a smile on their face as they took their bow, and looked even happier clapping for their fellow castmates as they took their own. 

I truly hope that every cast member was proud of the performance they put on for this show. As an audience member, you could tell how hard each and every single cast and crew member worked to make this show as magical as it was. I hope the underclassmen were proud of their performance and continue to be involved with the theater program here, and all the seniors are proud of the amazing show they put on for their final high school production.