Benicia High revisits Dr. Seuss for spring musical

(Originally published in the 4/20/16 edition. The discount ticket price and phone number for additional information have been corrected.)

   Dr. Seuss needs no introduction. The famed author has done as much to shape the last five or six generations of children as any of their parents. Of course, his success is not limited to just books. His works have also inspired countless animated TV specials, movies, children's edutainment shows and even a theme park in Orlando.

   With all the media that he has inspired, it only makes sense that Dr. Seuss’ works would inspire a Broadway musical, which they did with “Seussical” in 2000. One rendition can be seen over the next two weekends as the newest Benicia High School Panther Production.

   “Seussical” is this semester’s spring musical at Benicia High. However, it is not the first time this play has been performed at the school, as it was also the spring musical  back in 2007. 

   “It’s the only play or musical that I’ve ever repeated in 17 years,” director Christine Mani said. “I decided to do it again because it perfectly fit the actors we have on hand. We have a lot of performers who are ready to push to the next level and have a part with a name.”

   However, this will not be the same “Seussical” that audiences saw in 2007. This version is more modern, with visual references to cellphones, video games and reality TV, although the script itself is largely the same.

   “We have it set in the very modern day, what would happen if Dr. Seuss wrote his books now and the technology we have available for us,” Mani said. “It’s still definitely a show that’s OK for kids, but it has a lot of references and enjoyment for the more mature humor.”

   The story centers around Horton, played by Hamish Dinsdale. The curious elephant discovers a speck of dust on which the inhabitants of a planet called Whoogle live. One of the citizens is a beta tester named Jojo (Pilar Gonzales) who tries to invent a new phone app but is punished for his individualism-- i.e., thinking too many “thinks.” In the meantime, Horton has to guard an egg left by vain reality TV star Mayzie La Bird (Maya Singh Sharkey). 

   As one can tell by the synopsis, the story is largely based on “Horton Hears a Who” and “Horton Hatches the Egg,” but the musical is filled to the brim with references and characters from other Dr. Seuss stories from “The Cat in the Hat” to “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” to “Gertrude McFuzz.” According to Mani, seeing these characters again, even in a new setting, will remind audiences of just how timeless Seuss’ works are.

   “It really is an honest story,” she said. “On the surface level, Dr. Seuss books seem very child-like, but they always have a very strong message behind them that doesn’t hit you over the head. It’s just one of those things that makes you say ‘Oh yeah’ and just agree with it.”

   “It does have those child-like elements in it that remind you of your youth,” she added.

   In addition to the hard work of the cast, director and set designers, the play will also utilize the talents of vocal director Vivian McLaughlin choreographers Staci Arriaga and Kevin Gruwell, and a live orchestra that performs backstage. The collaborative efforts of all will result in a show that everybody should go to- even if your name happens to be Marvin K. Mooney.

   “It’s colorful characters, lots of wonderful music, the dancing is superb, the singing is just fantastic and the story is relatable for people of all ages,” Mani said. “Even if people have seen it, it’s definitely a different ‘Seussical’ than anyone’s seen before.”

   “Seussical” will be performed on Friday, April 22 and 29 and Saturday, April 23 and 30 at 7 p.m. and Sunday, April 24 and May 1 at 2 p.m. All shows will be held in the school’s Performing Arts Building, located at 1101 Military West. Tickets are $14 for adults and $8 for students. There will be a $2 discount for tickets purchased in advance. Tickets can be purchased at the door or at BeniciaHighPerformingArts.org. For more information, call the school at 747-8325. 

(All photos by Nick Sestanovich)

Mayzie La Bird, played by Maya Singh Sharkey, holds the egg that Horton the Elephant, played by Hamish Hinsdale, sat on for 51 weeks.

Mayzie (Left) relaxes in Palm Beach with her assistant Renee the Beautician (Sydney Chow), leaving Horton to hatch the egg she laid.

   

   

   

   

Three BHS departments join forces for winter production

(Originally published in the 12/2/15 edition)

   Three prominent performing arts programs at Benicia High School—the dance program, the drama program and the band program— will join forces for Panther Productions’ “Alex in Wonderland: Through the Performing Arts Looking Glass” next weekend.

   The story takes inspiration from “Alice in Wonderland” and blends it with a frequent nightmare that performing artists have: being in a production you don’t remember being in. 

   The premise centers around Alex, played by junior Hamish Dinsdale, who finds himself in a production he has no knowledge of. As he tries to figure out whether he’s in a musical theater performance, dance show or band concert, he comes across several Wonderland-inspired characters, including the Queen of Hearts as a stage manager who tries to make things harder for Alex, and the White Rabbit who tries to help him out. 

   “There’s a very common nightmare of finding yourself in a show that you don’t know anything about,” drama teacher Christine Mani said. “You don’t know the music for it or the words for it or the costuming or blocking. It really is a common situation that happens in dreams, and performers deal with it a lot, but non-performers have it as well.”

   According to Mani, the production came together as an opportunity to showcase the capabilities of all three of Benicia High’s performing arts departments. 

   “A lot of people will go to a band show because they have band students they know, and they’ll go to a dance show because they have dance students they know,” she said. “The nice thing about this is it’s going to cross those boundaries a little bit. It’s going to show people what the different shows they wouldn’t see would be all about.”

   The traditional dance show, featuring Benicia High dancers doing choreographed performances to recordings of popular songs and held together by a storyline, has been a BHS hallmark for a long time. Many of the elements will still be in place, but the addition of band director Patrick Martin and dance instructor Marisol Almaguer will bring in new creative components.

   “This is my first year not being in charge of the dance program,” Mani said. “It’s been interesting having three instructors involved rather than just myself. I like the fact that it’s showcasing all the different talents of our performing artists here from acting to singing to dancing to instrument playing.”

   Rather than the musical sequences just having dancers, there will also be orchestrated pieces from the band program and  song and dance numbers from the musical theater class. 

   “It’s kind of an all-encompassing view of what we do here at Benicia High School and what we’re really known for,” she said.

   The musical theater class will be singing songs from popular musicals like “A Chorus Line,” “Reefer Madness” and “Annie” as well as a number from next spring’s production, “Seussical.” The dance program will be performing to world music pieces as well as more popular songs like the rock piano ballad “My Immortal” by Evanescence. The band will be performing several self-composed instrumental pieces, and the show will conclude with the entire cast performing Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars’ funk-throwback smash hit “Uptown Funk.”

   Mani hopes the production will bring a lot of entertainment to the audience.

   “Audiences can expect to laugh, feel emotionally drawn, have a visual spectacle and find some overall enjoyment in the storyline and talent in all these great youths,” she said. 

   With the combined efforts of all three programs, Mani also hopes the show will draw a much bigger crowd than usual.

   “Because it’s only two days, we’re really hoping to sell out,” she said. “We’re hoping to get people out there from all different walks of life to see what we can do as a whole department.”

   “Alex in Wonderland” will open at 7 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 11 and 12, at Benicia High’s Performing Arts Building, located on 1101 Military West. Tickets are $8 for children and high school and college students with identification and $14 for general admission. People who purchase tickets through BeniciaHighPerformingArts.org will receive a $2 discount. For more information, contact BHS Performing Arts at (707)-751-2338. 

   

   

   

Panther production of "Our Town" to debut next week

(Originally published in the 10/29/15 edition)

   The ubiquity of technology in today’s society is undeniable. Citizens young and old frequently check their phones for new messages and spend their time indoors watching the latest YouTube video. 

   It is because of this pervasiveness that Benicia High School drama teacher Christine Mani was influenced to select Thornton Wilder’s 1938 play “Our Town” as the first Panther Production of the 2015-2016 school year. It will have its first show Nov. 6.

   “I’ve seen how the use of technology, and cellphones in particular, has affected my students,” she said. “I’ve been teaching here for 17 years, and kids these days are so ingrained in their cellphones that they’re afraid to take chances and think outside the box. They don’t experience life in the way older generations would have. It’s interesting to remind them of what that’s like.”

   “Our Town” takes place between 1901 and 1913 in the fictional town of Grover’s Corner, N.H. The play is performed in a metatheatrical style with the main character being the Stage Manager who tells the audience about the town’s history and the lives of its citizens. Among the themes touched upon are death, alcoholism and social justice. “Our Town” won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in its first year and has generated numerous adaptations in film, radio, TV and even an opera.

   The play traditionally has been performed without a set or props, which Mani says this production will retain to an extent.

   “The set is very traditional,” she said. “We actually use chairs for many different reasons. They all have their own character to them. They don’t necessarily match. As minimized as it is, they each take on their own persona.”

   Mani also says that  instead of having physical props or playing prerecorded sound effects, the props will be done using Foley work, a technique where sound effects are done by hand.

   “It’s going to help fill the scene and the ambiance of the scene,” she said. 

   Mani also says she’s impressed with the cast, who have all shown strong enthusiasm for the play.

   “They’re phenomenally talented and they’re deep-thinking,” she said. “They walk in the door, and they ask me questions about the deeper aspects of their characters.”

   A standout moment for Mani happened during the callbacks, which occur after the standouts from the auditions are chosen to be determined for the final casting.

   “I had a girl literally cry in character at callback, and that was something I’ve never seen in 17 years,” she said. “She was able to get so deep in that character so quickly, understand the nuances of what was going on and and pull herself so deep that she could actually cry on stage at callback. It blew my mind.”

   Mani views “Our Town” as a chance for the actors to branch out.

   “The students I have tend to go to the goofy side sometimes, and I wanted to give them something that had a little more realism in it and was on the mature side of life,” she said. 

   Despite the play being written in 1938 and set in the early 20th century, Mani says “Our Town” still has value for today’s society, particularly its portrayal of parent-child relationships and small-town life.

   “It’s very parallel to Benicia’s own small-town life,” she said. 

   Ultimately, Mani hopes that the audience gains the same thing her cast has: an awareness of their own technological overuse. 

   “I had a student just the other day say ‘I’ve been consciously putting my cellphone down. When I go to pick it up and I have that urge, I have been consciously making that effort to abstain,’” she said. “It is nice to let one’s mind think thoughts. You can actually enjoy life without technology.”

   “Our Town” will be performed  Friday, Nov. 6 and Saturday, Nov. 7 and Nov.13-14 at 7 p.m. Sunadays, Nov. 8 and 15 at 2 p.m. All performances will be in Performing Arts Building at Benicia High School, located at 1101 Military West. Tickets are $14 for adults and $8 for students with ID and children. For more ticket information, visit BeniciaHighPerformingArts.org.