“It’s alive! It’s alive!” are the sounds that echoed from the RCHS stage as the cast of “Young Frankenstein” rehearsed their lines and put themselves into their characters. As the show dates lurk around the corner, with the debut night on Thursday, March 12, at 7 p.m., the two casts gave insight into what they’re looking forward to most about it.

“I’m looking forward to the dance numbers the most, mainly because it’s a really big Broadway music show, so the dance numbers are usually really high energy,” senior Sophia Guglielmino said. “Think of Disneyland kind of music; it’s super exciting to do and learn.”

Junior Sage Alauddin also claimed to be looking forward to the dances incorporated within the musical.

“I’m really looking forward to all of the dance numbers because there are quite a few in this show, and they’re just so high energy, it’s gonna be so much fun,” Alauddin said. 

While the choreography is favored amongst many cast members, others look forward to singing songs, dressing in specific costumes, or working with specific people. 

“I am looking forward to working alongside Dawson Hyde and Malcolm Whitehead,” sophomore Hunter Haller said. “Those two, I look up to them a lot, and I feel like the same could be said for a lot of other people in dram,a and it’s just awesome to finally work with them.”

Though the cast looks forward to many things, they also anticipate their show dates, which creates feelings of nervous jitters and pure excitement. 

“I’m really excited for the show; I feel so blessed that this production is my final show,” senior Maia Gierczak said. “I have such an admiration for my cast and the entirety of the crew, and everyone working to bring this piece of art together, and it is so incredible to be a part of that, and I’m so excited to be able to share that with everyone.”

Guglielmino also shared her feelings about the upcoming show.

“A little nervous, but it’s like, good nerves, you know,” Gugliemino said. “With shows, it’s just a really big, exciting experience with everyone getting to work together, and you just get a bunch of jitters.” 

Alauddin claimed her excitement stems from their choreography and songs   

“All of our choreography is coming together, our lines are coming together, we’re running all of our musical numbers, everything is just falling into place perfectly, and it’s wonderful,” Alauddin said. 

Though several of the cast members have performed in numerous shows on campus, being a part of this show seems to be an honor to many. Gierczak said she is loving every second of rehearsals and prepping for the show. 

“I love working with my friends, I love working with people who are in tech, I love talking to people backstage, communicating, socializing, acting, it’s everything that I hoped for and more, and as a senior, I’m very happy to be a part of this production,” Gierczak said. “I’m glad that I get to be a part of this spring production specifically, since it will be my last one and I feel so lucky to be given the opportunity that I have playing the character I am, and giving my final bow onstage too.”

Sophomore Aron Haselwander also expressed his excitement about having a place within the cast.

“I’m very happy I’m in the cast, and I’m very happy I’ve made it in,” Haselwander said. “I’m proud of myself for being able to achieve getting into a cast and just getting into a show.” 

Haller also feels being cast in a large role within the show is a great honor for him.

“It feels awesome; the last show I was in, I was in a small role, and now I actually have a very big role, and I’m very grateful for the drama teacher, Mr. Loudermilk, who is an amazing teacher for casting me,” Haller said. “He could have very well casted me as ensemble for the show, and he could have casted me as a smaller role in this show, but no, he decided to give me a bigger role because he saw something in me, and I’m forever grateful for that.”

In the show, Haller is “dual casted,” meaning there weren’t enough male characters within the musical. Drama director James Loudermilk cast Haller as three characters: Victor Von Frankenstein and the grandfather in one cast and the Monster in the second cast. While Haller shows great admiration for his characters, as do other cast members. 

“My character is Frau Blücher, so she’s actually the housekeeper, and you’ll find out a bit more about her in the show,” Gierczak said. “So, I actually originally auditioned for Inga, but Frau was my second choice, so I’m very happy to be playing her. I kinda like how headstrong she is; I like her bold persona, I will say, because she’s very much out there, and she looks out for the interest of others but also for the interest of herself, which I think is really interesting. She finds the kindness in the darkest of places, because she, although many don’t, she actually believes the creature is good, and she tries to convince others to kind of follow that same thought process.” 

Haselwander, who plays Igor, said he enjoys his role due to a certain song he is able to sing.

“He’s just a funny character; he’s got some great jokes, and he’s got the best song in the whole musical, ‘Together Again,’ in my opinion,” Haselwander said.

Being able to sing specific songs within the musical seems to be why many of the cast members like the character they were given. 

“I like the musical number that Victor Von Frankenstein gets, ‘Join the Family Business. ’ It’s very catchy; it has its ups, its downs, it’s slow, it’s fast, it just jumps all over the place, but it’s not random, it builds up,” Haller said. “It’s very fun, and that’s the scene I get to work with Dawson, and I also really like doing the monster because it’s fun to just like roar, and do stuff, and it’s also awesome to be Malcolm Whitehead’s counter partner.”

Guglielmino also enjoys a song her character gets to sing. 

“I keep calling him [the Hermit] a Disney princess because if you hear his song, he just sings about how lonely he is, and how he wants to find friends, and it’s really sad, but it’s just a really fun song to do.”

Musicals are high in energy and require more movement than plays, and plays allow actors to truly focus on their acting skills in a more serious manner. So if there had to be a choice between the two, which would it be? Musicals or plays? 

 “Really, I prefer plays because I love acting in musicals, but I find singing is a little more difficult than just acting and speaking lines,” Haselwander said.

Haller agreed with this statement.

“I prefer acting in plays, and I hate saying this, like musicals are fun, but they’re so difficult,” Haller said. “I was almost considering being a stage manager, cause I was like “oh nah, we have to do choreo[graphy], and singing, and all this stuff combined with the acting already,” but like at the very, very end of the three week period between shows, I decided “nope, I’m gonna be an actor again.” It’s too cool to pass up.”

Alauddin said she has a different view and opinion, however. 

“I prefer musicals because I love singing; singing came first before acting for me, so singing is much more natural,” Alauddin said. “I think it’s just really, really fun to incorporate like musical theatre elements and music into acting because it just gives the production so much more life.”

Guglielmino sticks in the middle as she cannot pick a side. 

“That’s a hard question because there’s benefits to both,” Guglielmino said. “I think acting in musicals is really fun because it’s a lot more high-energy acting, you get to do a lot more, bigger movement, all that stuff. Acting in plays, is also extremely fun, because you build a lot more on your character, not that you don’t in musicals, but I think there’s more of a focus on the way you say things, when musicals, it’s just “hiya! And yippee!” 

Gierczak is also stuck in the middle, but leans towards musicals a bit more than plays. 

“I personally love the musical and the singing aspect of musicals,” Gierczak said. “So, I personally would probably be leaning towards more musicals than plays, but plays are also such an incredible and diverse experience, so it’s really hard to decide which one I’d rather go with, because I have incredible memories from both. ‘Dracula: A Comedy of Terrors’ was one of the best shows I was a part of, and then now, ‘Young Frankenstein’ is such an incredible experience. So, I love them both.”

The cast continues to rehearse choreography, songs, lines, and more every Monday through Thursday after school in the auditorium and choir room. Show dates are March 12, 13, and 14, and tickets will become available online next month at rchs-drama.com.