THE NORTH STAR

North Park S.S. recently had a musical performance. It took many students and teachers to pull it off but the outcome was incredible. Teachers spent a long time hosting auditions to find the best people for each and every role. Actors, played by North Park students, spent long hours memorizing scripts and techniques. Every actor, musician, stage crew, and the lighting managers stayed after school for many days to perfect the play.

Many students volunteered extra time outside of school to help with the process of preparation for the musical. For example, students put a lot of hard work into making the props and costumes for the performance. The stage crew and sound/lights were managed by drama students who spent their time learning how to manage the system. Band and music students, who played exceptional music for the musical, spent many lunches practicing the songs. Ms. Umachandran directed the music and stage team. Mrs. Blackwood, Mrs. Cooper, Mr. Arcand, Mrs. Kurz, Ms. Dunlop, and Ms. Hlavnicka spent many lunches and long hours after school providing their support.

The planning and preparation process for the musical was not a smooth one. As with most projects like this, there were many struggles that needed to be overcome. On the first day of the performance, some lights weren’t working as they should have, and some lines were forgotten. The set and props weren’t fully finished on the day of the first performance. But with hard work from the students and teachers, they were completed before the performance began. Overall, this helped the second performance day become even better because the mistakes helped prevent what could go wrong and how one could fix it.

The plot of the musical caught the attention of many as soon as it was revealed. As the curtains revealed the stage, a rock band was shown practicing their music. Soon after the music ends, Dewey Finn is kicked out of the band. Dewey is upset and returns to his friend’s house, where he stays and falls asleep. Patty, his friend’s wife, soon wakes him up and tells him that if he does not start paying rent, he will be kicked out. Dewey has to find a way to make money while pursuing his passion, which is making rock music and getting to the Battle of the Bands. Dewey has no clue as to what to do when he picks up the phone mistakenly and finds out his friend has been offered a job to teach at the school of Horace Green for a large sum. Dewey decides to pretend to be his friend, so he could teach at the school and make money. Soon he realizes the students are amazing musicians and creates his own band with them called the School of Rock. He teaches them his style of music every day, and they start preparing for the Battle of the Bands.

After getting permission to go to the Battle of the Bands, Dewey’s friend, Ned Schneebly, finds out that Dewey is impersonating him. The school was angry with Dewey and so were the student’s parents. Legal action could be taken against both Ned and Dewey. He then thought that maybe he isn’t supposed to be a musician; he is a failure and a disappointment. All alone, he hears knocking, and all his students come inside his home and tell him to come to the school bus, so they could go to the Battle of the Bands. He keeps refusing as he lied to everyone and they should hate him. The students then say that being part of his band helped them to be confident and feel good about themselves. They convinced Dewey. They all went to the Battle of Bands, and Dewey saw his old band there as well. His old band plays well, but his new band plays with more enthusiasm. Although Dewey’s old band won, the audience loved his new band and was eager to see them again. So the School of Rock ends off by giving another song to their new fans.

The incredible talent and effort put into this musical deserves to be recognized. The main leads in the School of Rock Musical were Dewey Finn, played by Avery Vanderwaak; Rosalie Mullins, played by Piper Jones; Dewey’s friend Ned Schneebly, played by Robin Doulat; and Diane Gumba played the role of Patty Dimarco. They all did a wonderful job portraying each of their respective roles. Mrs. Sheinkopf was played by the actor Mahi Patel. Ashley Beretty, Lucas Sanchez, Maryrose Rimando, Bruno Burchert, Richelle Raterta, Asher Djorgee, Emily Flood, Sriya Sikha, Anish Tyagi, Rachel Ramkissoon, Rachel Stewart, Trisha Tyagi and Nadiya Shakeel brought the musical to life with their performances of the students at Horace Green.

Manjot Lubana, Alaukik Singh, Meera Parmar, Zaira Shareef, Phoenix Gyovai, and Ayush Ravi acted as the parents and teachers of the students at Horace Green. Victory Agbontean is known for playing both the store owner and officer in the play. The Pages band members by whom Dewey Finn was kicked out were played by Mr. Rustja, Mr. Panwar, Mr. D’Apice, and Mr. Mannello.

Many props should be given to teachers who believed in the success of the play and spent many days supporting it to perfection. This includes the musical director, Ms. Umachandran; the staff team–Mrs. Blackwood, Mrs. Cooper, Mr. Arcand, Mrs. Kurz, Ms. Dunlop, and Ms. Hlavnicka–who all helped with directing, set-making, props, and costumes. And finally, thanks to the North Park cameos played by Mr. Fannon. Mr. Rustja, Mr. Panwar, Mr. D’Apice, and Mr. Mannello who all acted for the Pages band. The budget was wisely managed by the secretary, Ms. Rathod. Ms. Boyd, the head secretary, also helped throughout the process. Ms. Davies and Mrs. Leca helped with the creation of the t-shirts. Finally, credits are due to Ms. Peluso, Ms. Boutros, and Mr. Lane for allowing this play to be realized.