VHHS’ musicals over the years have drawn interest to many. The upcoming fall musical, Cinderella, is a well-known favorite. This fall musical won’t be the typical Disney film that VHHS students are used to. The characters are different and it’s more modern than classic. 

“Cinderella is a classic musical by Rodgers and Hammerstein, which is very well known, [with] very classic composers,” said Director Kevin Phelan.  “It’s almost like doing Shakespeare but a musical. But it’s been updated, and it’s really exciting, new, it’s got all the beautiful old music, but it’s kind of told in a more modern way because the whole script has been updated.”

With the hard work of the cast and crew, the fall musical shows immense effort and the dedication from the entire cast. 

“[We’ve done] lots of work outside of rehearsal on memorization and working on music outside to make sure that everyone knows their own parts,” said Marcello Gaus Ehning (12, he/him) who plays Prince Topher. 

The cast’s effort to ensure the musical’s success includes taking time in their personal lives to practice and memorize their parts. On top of the individual practice, there’s rehearsal every day from 3:30 to 6:30 pm. During the first two weeks of rehearsals, the cast focuses on learning their music parts. 

“I spend time after rehearsals in the evenings going over the music and singing it at home with backing tracks and recorded music, and also taking time to work on my lines and making sure that I can get those memorized quickly. The quicker the lines are memorized, the more we can focus on acting,” said Ehning. 

The cast’s dedication to the musical, to their respective roles, the crew, and more importantly each other, help ensure the success of the musical. 

In order for a musical to flow and to succeed, the cast makes sure that they’re all connected and working together. But, continuity isn’t the only facet of the rehearsal process. 

 “I feel like the main thing is probably just taking notes and taking criticism nicely and lightly and not taking it personally,” said Joceyln Bettarelli (12, she/her) who plays Cinderella. 

Many cast members have had different experiences with the roles they’ve played in past productions.

“It’s really exciting to see like some people who have had different circumstances really stepping up and taking the lead and returning us to a place of strength,” said Phelan.  

The cast also believes this musical is a unique twist of a classic that the audience is sure to enjoy. 

“People should come see Cinderella just because it’s a very fun show. It’s filled with laughter and joy and it’s a very fun and unique kind of show because we’ve never really done something like this before, and so people should come see it just because the songs are really great. The characters are so fun, uplifting and bright,” said Bettarelli. 

The musical will perform on Friday, October 28th and Saturday, October 29th, as well as November 4th and 5th at 7pm in the auditorium.