On Oct. 12, the high school auditorium was full of community members and students waiting in anticipation for what the night would hold. Some saw friends from years past, while others created new ones as alumni returned to perform for their former peers.
The 2024 Second Annual Alumni Cabaret was hosted by Ms. Heather Giammaria, who teaches performing arts, creative writing, and English 12, and Ms. Debrah Evans, who teaches chemistry. The Master of Ceremonies was Emma Cumberledge, an alum who graduated in 2016. The cabaret is all about honoring alumni who have performed in past musicals. Some are as recent as the graduating class of 2023, while others go as far back to the former 1988 graduating class. The performers were alumni Shelly Cary, Andrea Cary, Angel Clinkscales, Dante Colorito, Rylie Cousins, Cumberledge, Suzanne Estabrook, Alyson Horner, Caroline Kennedy, Zach Malinak, Erin Mills, Jennifer Newman, Alex Probst, Brigette Richard, Maddison Sanders and Francis Tavern. For the alumni, it is a great opportunity to relive their theater days as they perform a song number from any musical of their choice; for the students, it is a chance to appreciate the singing skills of past performers. As for Giammaria, it’s the experience of getting to reveal the musical for the year.
“That’s my favorite part of the whole thing. I’ve been trying to do it in different ways that I thought would be fun from the get-go, and it’s fun to see everybody so excited because not only do the current students who are in the audience get excited but the community members from all over are excited and so were the alumni,” Giammaria said.
The entertainment wasn’t the only aspect of the night. Money was also being raised through selling refreshments, tickets and a 50/50 raffle. The profits went toward improving the auditorium, as many things could be fixed or refurbished. It benefits the drama club, as well as anyone who uses the stage.
To end the night, the 2024-2025 musical was revealed. At the beginning of the night, papers with multiple musicals that students had wanted were printed out and hung up at the front of the auditorium. After someone performed, they would remove one of the musicals at the front of the stage. At the end of it all, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was selected by Giammaria, Evans, and Cumberledge. “I personally like the selection; it was one of the ones I wanted from the list,” Jonathan Bruce (11) said.
Students will spend the next few months reviewing scripts, selecting costumes, and constructing sets for the production of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. In all, the cabaret left many with mixed feelings about the selection but overall the cast is excited for the months to come.