Visual and performing arts is one thing at Lamphere High School that is very important to many of the students here at Lamphere. Between our stellar band, the many talented art students, and our brilliant theatre department. Run by Mrs. Stephanie Peltier and Shawn Polito, they have managed our company for many years now and hopefully will continue to for much longer.
Following the theme of my music stories, I decided to do a musical theatre top 5s since I myself am one very big musical theatre fan!! I interviewed students, Kaylee Derderian, Lacey Crouch, Joshua Cox, Rosaleigh Wyman, and Lamphere’s very own Stephanie Peltier. I asked them their favorite musical of all time, their top 3-5 songs from that musical, and their favorite character from that musical and why.
First, I interviewed senior, Josh Cox. My first question was what his favorite musical was. If you know Josh personally, you most definitely know that his favorite musical ever is Newsies. He responded with, “Newsies, duh”. This musical is about a group of paper boys in the state of New York who go on strike to bring attention to themselves due to the rise in cost of their papers by Mr. Pulitzer. The Newsie Boys, led by Jack Kelly, revolt and make the headlines of the newspapers around all of New York. His favorite songs were, “Santa Fe”, track #9- Jack Kelly’s iconic solo, “King of New York”, track #10, and “Carrying The Banner”, track #3. My final question for Josh was who his favorite character was from the show and why. He answered: “Jack Kelly because he’s inspirational and a good role model, and I pretend I’m him sometimes, and he is the most like me in my eyes.” I don’t think anyone could top Josh for the number of times he has watched Newsies. Josh tells Mrs. Peltier and former castmates, “The only way I’m coming back to act in a show is if we do Newsies in the spring…”
Second, Freshman Kaylee Derderian was asked the same set of questions. When asked what her favorite musical was, she responded with “Oh gosh, there is so many to choose from, and it honestly changes all the time, but I think West Side Story is my favorite.” West Side Story follows a similar storyline to Romeo and Juliette, and is a classic show in the world of Musical Theatre. I also asked her what her 3 favorite songs were, to which she replied, “Tonight”, track #8, “Gee Officer Krupkee”, track #9- a song about the Jets mocking the system that targets their “delinquency” and upbringings, a truly funny show sung by an all male group, and “Cool”, track #16. My last question for Kaylee was who her favorite character was. Her response was, “Anita is my favorite because she’s never scared to speak her mind and stand up for what she believes in, and she is VERY brave.” I loved Kaylee’s response and was very glad to see a musical that not a lot of high schoolers like get so much appreciation.
Next, Junior Rosaleigh Wyman was the third person I interviewed. Rosaleigh’s favorite musical is the very famous Beetlejuice. A show about a girl named Lydia who moves into a new house with her widowed father, where she meets a demon from Hell that wants her to say his name 3 times in a row, specifically spoken and unbroken. I asked Rosaleigh what her top 3 favorite songs and she responded with “Home”, track #16- a song about Lydia admitting that she just wants to go home, and is ultimately singing to her mother, who she has used to fuel her angst and rebellion for the previous duration of the show, “Barbara 2.0”, track #14, and “Dead Mom”, another song Lyida sings to her mom about how hard life is getting without her around, and that all she wants is for her mom to send her a sign, and for her dad to finally say her name. And when asked her favorite character, she replied with “Delia, because Lyida doesn’t really like her and it makes her more interesting, and she’s just such a fun and energetic role.” Rosaleigh is a very decorated performer and has all the right credentials to be reviewing such a famous musical.
Fourth on the list is Junior Lacey Crouch, another veteran to performing on stage. On theme with her most recent show here with the LTC, when asked what her favorite musical was, she answered “The Wizard of Oz.”, a musical about a girl named Dorothy Gale from Kansas who seems to be missing important parts of her life that she seemingly “can’t find in her own backyard.”, as she travels to the Merry Old Land of Oz and meets 3 special friends along the way. Lacey’s second question was what her top 3 songs were from the musical, and she responded with “Somewhere Over the Rainbow”, track #4(off of the motion picture soundtrack), a song where Dorothy sings and dreams of a life somewhere over a rainbow, where blue birds fly, and troubles melt like lemon drops, way above chimney-tops, “Munchkinland”, track #9, the song that is set in the joyous town of Munchkin as Dorothy arrives, and the Wicked Witch of the east has a house dropped on her head after the wind began to switch, and “March of The Winkies”, track #6 off of Disc 2. Her third and final question was what her favorite character from the show was, and she responded with “Dorothy, cause that’s literally me.” Lacey recently played Dorothy Gale this spring alongside previous interviewee, Rosaleigh Wyman. These were all amazing answers by Lacey!
Last but not least was Mrs. Peltier. She has led this program here with many of the current seniors for 4 years now, and many years before us, doing previous shows like Legally Blonde, The Gravedigger, and Cinderella. I asked Mrs. Peltier what her top 5 musicals were, and what her favorite song was from those 5 musicals. Her top 5 musicals were in order: Les Misérables, Hadestown- A musical that follows a Greek story of Orpheus and Eurydice as they fight to come back to the overworld together, Hamilton- A musical that follows famous historical figure, Alexander Hamilton, and his life before his passing, Newsies- A musical that follows a group of paper boys in the state of New York who go on strike to bring attention to themselves due to the rise in cost of their papers by Mr. Pulitzer. & Rent, Her favorite song from Les Mis was the iconic ensemble song “One Day More”, track #4(off of the OBC), a crucial song that shows all the different perspectives of the lead characters facing the June Rebellion. From Hadestown, she chose “Wait For Me”, track #18, a song that starts off with the god Hermes warning Orpheus of the journey he’s about to embark on, and ends with Orpheus singing to his muse Eurydice to wait for him, as he will soon be down in the underworld with her. From Hamilton, she chose “Wait For It”, a song sung by character Aaron Burr, one that is almost crucial to Aaron Burr’s character development; Burr explains how he is willing to wait for what he wants in his life, which contrasts to Hamilton’s impulsive and “heat of the moment’ decisions. From Newsies, she chose “The World Will Know”, track #7(from the OBC), a song led by Jack Kelly and followed by the rest of the newsie boys, singing about forming a union to get the attention of the world so that the bigwigs of the paper industry stop treating them all unfairly. And last but certainly not least, from Rent, she chose “No Day But Today”, track #17, disc 2(off of the OBC), a closing number sung by Mimi, who seemingly comes back to life after nearly dying, and cherishes all that she has in the moment with the rest of the cast.
Ultimately, the arts MUST stay alive, keep performing, keep expressing yourself through all artistic mediums, performative, applied, and visual. I hope you enjoyed!!
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