Each fall, RMA drama teacher Mrs. Whitehurst directs a Middle School play, which is performed at the Dunn Center at North Carolina Wesleyan. This year, our Middle Schoolers are bringing some wintery Disney magic to the stage with Frozen Jr. (yes, that Frozen!) on November 11th and 12th. The show is a “Junior” show because it is “adapted for performance by students in grades K-9,” West Music explains. Productions with this designation are only an hour long and are perfect for our younger students who are, as Bo Boles says, “looking forward to the limelight”!
Mrs. Whitehurst chose to do Frozen Jr. because the eighth graders asked to do it, and she wanted to capitalize on their enthusiasm. She is excited for everybody to see “the tremendous talents with not only the leads but also the dancers” on show night and believes that people will be “surprised at how funny and talented everybody is.” Mrs. Whitehurst put together the perfect cast: Maria Falconi (8th) as Elsa, Ada Dunton (8th) as Anna, Landon Newcomb (8th) as Hans, Bo Boles (8th) as Kristoff, Katelyn Boone (8th) as Olaf, and Marcelo Falconi (7th) as Sven, as well as a talented and dynamic ensemble. Other students have also been helping from behind the scenes. Junior Nicolas DuPont is assisting with sound, 8th grader Michael High is apprenticing on lights, and Maria Falconi (who is also cast as Elsa) is directing the music along with Mr. Leonard. There is even one Lower School cast member, 5th grader Chandler Brown, who is playing young Elsa. The drama department is clearly filled with talent!
I recently interviewed various cast members to get their take on the play, and they had nothing but positive things to say about both the play itself and the experience of being part of one of RMA’s productions. With this being her first Middle School play, sixth grader Adelyn Barry is “excited to see how the shows work” because she used to watch our school plays and wonder how students created such magic. The answer is probably “hard work” since students began rehearsing as soon as auditions were done–which was the second week of school! It’s no wonder, then, that Addy says the play “is really professional.” One especially great moment in the play promises to be when Elsa embraces her true self, which is why Maria Falconi is looking forward to her “transformation on stage.” While the play itself is going to be fantastic, cast members have also loved the process of putting the show together, which is why Katelyn Boone cites “the memories” that are made as the cast works together as her favorite part of this experience. Maria has similarly loved her time preparing for Frozen Jr. because it’s “such a special thing to be with other people who enjoy what you’re doing.”
Like the rest of us, sixth grader Michaela Boone can’t wait “to see how everyone does in the final show” after all of their hard work over the last few months. If you want to see this amazing cast at work–and you should!–tickets can be purchased at the door both nights: Saturday, November 11th at 7 p.m., and Sunday, November 12th at 2 p.m. Admission is $10 for adults and $5 for students (free for RMA faculty) and helps cover the costs of the facilities, licensing, scripts, choreography, costumes, and more that make our productions so amazing!
