From November 13-15th, WFS students lit up the stage with their performances in Kiss Me, Kate. Written by Samuel and Bella Spewack, Kiss Me, Kate was adapted from the Shakespeare classic, The Taming of the Shrew. This “play within a play” follows the complicated on and off-stage lives of the four main characters, Fred Graham (Jack Hanson ‘18), Lilli Vanessi (Mary Agne ‘18), Bill Calhoun (Zach Horowitz ‘17), and Lois Lane (Alexis Borst ‘19).

Students in ensemble and lead roles alike enjoyed the camaraderie and satisfaction of seeing all of their hard work come together. Eleanor Napoli ‘16, commented, “When I first signed up, it was to fulfill credits and also because it was my senior year musical and I’ve always enjoyed them. But ensemble isn’t as easy as people think. Despite not having a lot of lines to remember, we still have to show up for a lot of rehearsals, learn songs, learn dances, and work really hard to help the show come together.” Natalie Szumel ‘16 summed up her experience, “Ensemble’s pretty fun to be a part of. A lot of fun moments wouldn’t be able to happen without it, so it’s a no-pressure way to add to the show and make the crowd laugh. I’ve only been in the musical twice, but both times I’ve made new friends and lots of memories.” Greg Smith ’17, who played the part of General Harrison Howell, also credited the musical for bringing students closer together. Smith shared, “As a new kid to this school, it was fun to get to know people I would not have have normally hung out with.”

Ryan Fischer ‘18 discussed his on-stage chemistry with Matt Byer ‘18 and how their time as a gangster duo contributed to the enjoyment of his experience. “I was so happy that Matt and I were cast as gangsters together. It was great to goof around and create characters with him during play practice. I would not have wanted to play the part with anyone else,” explained Fischer.  Even those in the audience could tell how much they enjoyed working with each other. Chris Wallace ‘17 noted, “I thought Ryan and Matt were really convincing in their roles as gangsters. They fed off each other’s energy well, did a good job of improvising when needed, and always stayed in character.”

The crew of Kiss Me Kate was excited to take advantage of the new theater’s advanced technology. Nick Brennan Martin ‘17, a dedicated member of the sound and light crew for several school productions, explained some of the theater’s new capabilities that he appreciates, “The new sound and light boards make our job much easier. We can also group lights together now, instead of adjusting them individually.”

Although Friends usually produces family-friendly shows to be enjoyed by upper schoolers and lower schoolers alike, this fall’s musical contained a parental guidance warning for sexual content. Scott Clothier, history teacher and lower school parent commented, “Seeing the parental guidance alone, I would have questioned letting my kids go see the musical.” However, many older students found the more mature content entertaining and humorous. Jayna Jones ‘17 expressed a popular view of this year’s musical, raving, “The show was unexpected and funny, and the singing was also really well done.” Kate Mraz ‘16 agreed, “I think that the musical was funnier with the mature content, but the coolest and most interesting part of the musical is seeing your friends and classmates on stage and seeing how their hard work paid off.”

All in all, this year’s musical was a resounding success! Performers, directors, and viewers got to reap the rewards of all the hard work. Congratulations to the entire cast and crew on a great weekend of performances!