Feb. 7, 2019
By Alyssa Ferrara
Staff Writer
Junior Jenna Freitas, known for being kind-hearted and compassionate, must ditch her cheerful personality after school as she steps on stage to fill the role of the Wicked Witch of the West. On Feb. 14 through 16, Freitas, along with the rest of the cast, will be performing L. Frank Baum’s hit musical “The Wizard of Oz” in the auditorium.
For Freitas, the transformation to fully get into character involves green body makeup and prosthetics that are meant to make her unrecognizable even to the people who know her well.
Freitas said she has complete confidence the cast will be ready to light up LHS’ stage come mid-February.
“Everyone has really started to develop into their own characters and get comfortable with their role, so I fully believe that we are going to put on an amazing show,” Freitas said. “The biggest challenge is always pulling together as a family, and that’s cheesy, but right now we really haven’t had our unified family moment where we all feel like ‘OMG, I really care about this show, and I really want it to be good.’”
Junior Matthew Madonna, who will be playing the Scarecrow, said this year’s cast consists of many hardworking newcomers.
“Everyone is doing great with their acting and singing and keeping up with the pace we’re moving at. Also, the set is coming along nicely,” Madonna said. “Everyone, including myself, fits their roles perfectly, and the [directors] in charge of casting did a phenomenal job.”
Senior Michael Lavell said he was grateful to find out he got the role of the Tin-Man for which he auditioned.
“It was the first time I auditioned for something like this, and I really wanted to be a part of the musical,” Lavell said.
Junior Mikayla Poggi, who is taking on the lead role of Dorothy Gale, said she is nervous to play the main character, but her excitement to portray such a classic figure ultimately overpowers her worry.
“‘The Wizard of Oz’ has a lot of talking. Moreover, my character is in 95 percent of the scenes. With all the lines I have, plus singing and blocking, it’s really scary sometimes. I try to read through my script every day when I get home because my biggest fear is blanking on stage,” Poggi said. “It’s my first big, lead role in my high school career. Having a role like this gives me motivation to do my best at rehearsal every day.”
Poggi, like Freitas, said she is confident the cast will be successful.
“This show is definitely on track for opening night. We are always so focused every day at rehearsal, whether it be for a huge dance number or for a two-page scene. We are really giving our 110 percent,” said Poggi.
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