Nearly a year after the theatre department’s unexpected cancellation of Matilda, they have finally returned, hoping to blow audiences away with a new performance. 

This year, HHTD will be performing the musical Songs for a New World, written and composed by Jason Robert Brown. Originally performed off-Broadway, Songs for a New World is an abstract musical sung completely through with songs connected by one theme: decision. 

Traditionally, the show features four performers, two men and two women, who play various characters throughout the course of the show. In HHTD’s rendition of the show, the quartet — played by senior Gwyneth Lauzier, senior Nathan Hansford, freshman Haley Adelman and sophomore Audrey Kim — remains the heart of the show. However, most of the songs were split up into solos, duets and trios for the cast to perform, giving as many students as possible their opportunity to shine. 

Unlike past performances like Newsies, Elf and The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Songs for a New World features a much smaller cast and crew; whereas previous shows had casts and crews pushing 40 students, Songs for a New World has a cast of 26 students and a crew of 31 students. 

This year, due to the coronavirus, cast rehearsals and crew meetings have remained online. Crew meetings, previously held on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays, have transitioned to online workshops where students can learn more about sound engineering, costumes, set design and more.

 “The way crew has been working this year,” said production manager Ms. Amanda Piergallini, “is that we have virtual crew meetings on Mondays and workshops following through the rest of the week.” So far, 17 crew members have been consistently showing up for crew workshops since the start of the show, she said. 

Much like crew, cast rehearsals have been held online through Microsoft Teams. Typically, in a non-virtual setting, students follow one cohesive schedule dictating when each person has rehearsal.

 “Normally, when you are having a production in person, you usually have rehearsals by scenes,” said Ms. Piergallini.

 This year however, the opposite is true.

 “For [Songs for a New World], because it is virtual and a lot of the songs are individual-based or duets and trios, we are reversing it. We are doing all of the solo-based stuff first, and our music director, Sara Gallo, has set it up so the students could pick the time slot that works best for them,” said Ms. Piergallini. 

As a result, the schedule has fallen from more of staff’s responsibilities into the lap of the cast. Similarly, dance rehearsals are held twice a week with choreographer Sara Gallo via Microsoft Teams. However, as dance rehearsals involve more than just three people, those rehearsals are pre-scheduled. 

Of course, much is still unknown as to whether Songs for a New World can or cannot be performed in person. According to Ms. Piergallini, the staff has three different alternatives. The final decision regarding the show’s performance status will not be determined until April 15.

 “We currently have three plans of actions to hold the show, but we won’t make the call until mid-April. That way, we will know if the world is going to be safe enough.

We have one plan of action where some things will be recorded and some will be live, we have another plan of action where everything will be virtual and recorded at the school in socially distanced pods, and a third plan of action where everything will still be virtual, but all be filmed individually by the students from their safe households,” said Ms. Piergallini.

 Currently, until the staff decides upon a plan, there is no definitive show date in mind. 

As for the students themselves, there has been a mix of excitement and disappointment. Crew and cast alike agree that the lack of social interaction with friends at rehearsals and crew meetings has made a lonely year feel even lonelier.

 “When I [was] done school and [got] to go to the auditorium for crew, it was a nice feeling — a feeling like I was a part of a club. But now, crew online just feels like another class out of my day,” said junior sound technician Marisa Pena.

On the crew side, online workshops, while not the same as in-person crew, have been manageable.

“From my personal experience, it is easier to work with the sound in person, but we have found a way to run crew online in the event we need to perform the show virtually,” said Marisa. And with new mic equipment and online sound programs like Premiere Pro, crew — especially the sound technicians — are able to uphold their optimism.

For the cast members like Gwyneth, on the other hand, online rehearsals have been far less manageable and far more mentally taxing.

 “No one really warns you how busy senior year is, so I am balancing college auditions, applications, school and the musical all at once, but what makes everything even more challenging is that we are not learning the music from a vocal director,” said Gwyn. Instead, the cast must learn their songs on their own without any musical assistance. 

At the end of the day, both Marisa and Gwyn said they are grateful for the opportunity to be a part of a show again where they can perform and learn more about crew.

 “Even if it is not the way we wanted it to be, I am very excited to be doing a show either way,” said Gwyn. “But it is very difficult not being able to see anybody or hear anybody through online rehearsals.” 

“Learning these different adaptations for shows during a pandemic is really interesting to see a different perspective of how shows are performed. I think it is cool that I get to work less as a live sound engineer, and more as a sound producer in a studio,” said Marisa. 

The cast, crew and staff of Songs for A New World has worked to produce a safe show. While it may not be the experience most had hoped, there is no denying the thrill and excitement members have to perform again. 

“The students have lost so much this entire year, and Matilda didn’t end the way we wanted it to end, so we just want the students to be able to enjoy themselves and do what they love,” said Ms. Piergallini.

“Everyone should come see the show, whether it is in person or virtual,” said Gwyn and Marisa. “We have all worked very hard this past year, the staff even harder, to produce a show, so support would mean the world to everyone involved.”