‘27 & Julia Coppo, Contributing Writer ‘27
The Indian Hills Theatre Company presented its production of The Four Seasons musical from November 30th through December 2nd. The musical consisted of various songs and dances to replicate the ambiance of the four seasons. The opening song, “Oh What A Night” from the Jersey Boys, hit the ground running and left the crowd waiting for more musical magic. With last minute song cuts and rigorous practice throughout the weeks, the Indian Hills Theatre Company provided a well constructed production that wowed everyone who went to watch.
The Four Seasons musical began in the season of Winter. This season included five different songs that brought the stage to life with winter ambiance! A clear favorite of the crowd was “Sparklejollytwinklejingley” from the popular Christmas movie Elf, performed by Jebriel Tantawi as Buddy, Victoria Fox as the Manager, and the remainder of the cast. The choreography of this song, designed by Victoria Fox, includes a reenactment of the rockettes iconic kickline. This Christmas staple led to an eruption of applause from the audience–a clear favorite.
Next was the season of Spring. Michael Reisch, a sophomore in the cast, started out the season with a meaningful monologue. This speech spoke of mindfulness and the beauty of life, a message that all ages could learn from and relate to. Michael Reisch expresses his perspective on the monologue: “As time goes on, and as you change, you should take the time to reminisce about the easier times in life.” The address to the crowd outlines the idea that as children get older, they start to lose their sense of imagination and begin to act like adults, leaving their childhood behind. It’s important to take some time and enjoy your childhood.
After Spring came Summer, the time for relaxation, fun, and excitement. These emotions were clearly replicated throughout the four songs chosen to represent this season. The song, “Footloose” from the movie Footloose really stood out among the crowd. Mrs. Lachac, the media center specialist stated, “I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this musical, but it was a thrilling performance to watch! I had a lot of fun in the audience, and I was very impressed with how the actors managed to depict a message without any scripted lines.”
The final season was Autumn, where the school year had officially begun. This portion of the play incorporated the relaxing aspects of fall as well as anticipation for the new school year. While all four of the songs performed within this season were popular, the solo, “Autumn Leaves” by Ed Sheeran and performed by Mert Ozer shined bright. As the lights dimmed, Mert was met with a cacophony of applause and cheers. According to Abby Manning, a freshman member of the audience on Friday, “I thought the play was very impressive, especially that the cast members wrote the scenes themselves! Everyone on stage seemed super talented and were smiling the whole time!”
Anyone who went to see the The Four Seasons production would have recognised some distinct difference from a traditional school play, most notably being its lack of a linear plot line. The four seasons of Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall were demonstrated through almost entirely music and dance. While some may feel this could hinder the storyline, this production proved the complete opposite. Instead, the music and dance shined above all else, and allowed the audience to feel the emotional shift that accompanies the changing of the seasons. According to Abigail Collins, a freshman cast member, “I thought you were able to really express yourself without having to be a specific character [. . .] just be yourself and show what you thought.”
Since this play focused on the cast as a whole rather than individual characters, the cast members were more reliant on each other during rehearsals. Abby Collins states, “If there were changes that we had to make, like we scratched a dance and changed it a week before the show, we just had to really focus and make sure we were all there to work on it.”
In addition to standalone scheduling difficulties, this cast experienced a last minute change to the production a week before the performance dates. As explained by Abigail Collins, “We had to scrap a song called ‘Put on a Happy Face’ because it was really difficult to put it on the stage because we tried it multiple times with different choreography and it just wasn’t working–so then we came up with the dance ‘Be True to Your School.’” Despite the rushed adjustment, this was the right decision–the audience adored this particular song during the performance on Saturday. This play required the actors to adjust their typical routine in preparing for this performance, but they took on the challenge as a community.
The cast didn’t accomplish this all on their own, however, the tech crew this year was in surplus, and they were the backbone of making this performance a reality. As a group, the tech crew is what allows school productions to take place. For The Four Seasons musical, the tech crew’s skill sets and organization were clearly seen in this performance. According to Ryleigh Burchell, a sophomore member of the tech crew, “Last year we had about ten techies so we have doubled in size since then. It’s a lot easier having more of us, and it was a good environment for sure.”
From the moment the curtains opened, to the moment they closed for the final time, The Four Seasons Fall Musical demonstrated hard work and dedication from the cast, tech crew and advisors.
