Band and chorus present Broadway Night 3/14/14

RHS senior Jacob Mesheau sings “Why God, Why?” from the musical Miss Saigon.

Story and Photo by Kylie Langhoff, Veritas News Editor

Rockland High’s band and chorus brought the house down on Friday, March 14 in their annual Broadway Night performance. As always, the musical selections were phenomenal. The students performed songs from the musicals Miss Saigon and Wicked, resulting in an expected success.

As the curtains opened, the RHS band kicked off the show with a medley of songs from Miss Saigon. This musical depicts the complex relationship between an American soldier and a Vietnamese prostitute during the Vietnam War.

Senior Jacob Mesheau portrayed that soldier, appearing on stage in camouflage and sang “Why God, Why?”

Sophomores Leah DeCecco and Lauren Illes sang, “Movie in My Mind,” with chorus and band members filling out the ensemble of the scene.

A second duet by sophomore Ella Engle and senior Nheillya Rouse followed with “I Still Believe,” showing the pain the soldier’s wife at home and mistress were both experiencing.

Senior Olivia Olsen melted hearts throughout the auditorium as she sang “I’d Give My Life For You,” acting as a mother to fellow chorus member Genesis Rojas’ younger brother while he colored on stage. Hector Rojas played the son of the soldier and the prostitute.

Closing out the solos for the Miss Saigon performances, Engle beautifully sang, “Now That I’ve Seen Her.” The RHS chorus then closed out the first half of the show with the song “Bui Doi.”

After a short intermission, several chorus members transformed Wicked, a musical that dramatizes the early years of the witches from the Wizard of Oz.  It was a fitting showcase for this year’s Broadway Night’s talented singers.

The RHS chamber choir opened with “Dear Old Shiz,” followed by the bubbly freshman Sophie McClellan singing a crowd favorite, “Popular.”

DeCecco said she was excited to perform her solo of “Defying Gravity,” saying she’s been a fan of the song for years.

Kayla Frazer performed her last solo in a Rockland High Broadway Night, singing “I’m Not That Girl.”

“I was sad it was my last one, but it was a moment I would never forget,” says Frazer.

In a romantic duet, freshman Lucas Haas and sophomore Kalee Lucier-Hill sang, “As Long As You’re Mine.”

McClellan then followed with another dynamic solo of “The Wizard And I.”

Although there were some technical difficulties with the microphones, senior Ian Haas and Engle, as the Wizard of Oz and the “Wicked Witch,” had the crowd clapping along to “Wonderful.”

Lucier-Hill then came back on stage to follow her duet with a solo performance of, “No Good Deed.”

In the last vocal performance, Illes came on stage in a beautiful, pink princess dress and did a duet of “For Good” with Rojas.

To wrap up the night, the RHS band played many different selections from Wicked.

This year’s production took the audience on a journey of desperation to acceptance. The two diverse musicals couldn’t have had a more positive result, making this year’s annual Broadway Night one to remember.