Don't Be Late For This Very Important Date: BEST Kids perform Disney's "Alice in Wonderland, Jr."

Burlington Educational Summer Theatre (BEST), a program of the Burlington Public Schools, is thrilled to return with its final production of the season, Disney’s “Alice in Wonderland, Jr.” The performances will take place at 2:00 and 7:00 pm on Saturday, July 24 in the Fogelberg Auditorium of Burlington High School.

Who doesn’t know the story of Alice and her madcap adventures as she follows White Rabbit into Wonderland? Join her as she experiences a host of zany characters including the DoDo Bird, the Tweedles, the Queen of Hearts, the Caterpillar and the Cheshire Cat. Described by MTI as a “fast-paced stage adaptation of Alice in Wonderland,” the production “features updated dialogue and new arrangements of such classic Disney songs as ‘I'm Late,’ ‘The Un-birthday Song’ and ‘Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah.’”

A family-friendly production, the BEST Kids’ performance of “Alice in Wonderland, Jr.” will feature more than 60 students from Burlington schools ranging in age from seven to thirteen, with Rachel Seeley in the lead role of Alice, along with Sydney Matai as Small Alice and Emma Saltsman as Tall Alice. Also included in principal roles are Elana Schlansky as the White Rabbit and Katherine Ellis as the Mad Hatter; playing Caterpillars are Mia Campbell, Kacey Ridley, Gabrielle Corsino, Tyler Gnerre and Ashley Blathras; Cheshire Cats are played by Amanda Wagreich, Kaitlyn Brine and Cassidy Cummings. Also in featured roles are Amanda McCombs as the Dodo Bird, Madison Carter as the Doorknob, Mikaila Gnerre as Lilly and Ivy Saltsman as the March Hare. Also, Jade Gordon plays Mathilda, Jessica Gordon plays Rose and Jordyn Nobrega plays Petunia. Playing the roles of the King and Queen of Hearts are Michael Seeley and Emily Bertolami; and, Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum will be played by Rachel Czerwinski and Emily Frost.

The BEST production of “Disney’s Alice in Wonderland, Jr.” has a sizable ensemble with members playing the roles of Magical Characters, Flowers, Sea Creatures, Royal Cardsmen, the Tweedle Entourage, the Tea Party Entourage and the Park Children. The members of the ensemble are: Kerry Alexander, Sara Cannalonga, Casey Damon, Annie Ellis, Sasha Festi, Marlea Gainley, Shaylinn Gainley, Mari Gedick, Elisa Gonzalez, Kailee Heffler, Jessica Poulin and Carlee Wickwire. Also included are Bridgette Sullivan, Lindsay Corbett, Scott Czerwinski, Mary Hanafin, Daniel Harrigan, Matthew Harrigan, Serina Khalifa, Shane Manfredi, Glen Middleton-Cox, Samantha Murphy, Juliana Nigro, Stephen Nigro, Nicole Noonan, Christina Raposo, Jessica Sarver, Isabella Seeley, Caitlin Shea and Claudia Webb. Additionally, Theresa Chai, Kylie DeVarney, Joseph Godin, Erin Hardy, Kelliann Keaney, Olivia LoPreste, Jillian Murray and Annalisa Petrizzi.

Burlington Educational Summer Theatre is a summer program of the Burlington Public Schools that offers a professionally produced educational theatre experience for students. The program is in its second year under the guidance of BEST Executive Director John Middleton-Cox, a highly regarded theatre professional and music educator. Joining Middleton-Cox for the production of Disney’s “Alice in Wonderland Jr.” are Jeanne Coroniti (Fox Hill Elementary School’s music teacher) as Artistic and Music Director, Jamie Jaffe (Fox Hill classroom teacher) as Production Director, and Leanne Reardon (Assistant Director for Suzanne’s Dance Connection in Burlington) as Choreographer. Returning to BEST Kids this year are professional set designer Peter Waldron and award-winning costume designer Maureen Krebs.

BEST staff also includes a number of high school students and graduates, all veterans of Burlington High School productions, in roles as crew members and counselors. They are led by Kevin Parker as House Manager, Stage Manager Tori Carrabino, along with stage crew members Joseph Nosak, Jacinda Pedersen, Daryn Starkey, Nick Stewart and Sam Cote. Eva Costanza returns as a vocal coach, Eric Leva is the rehearsal accompanist, Chris LaRocque is the Sound Technician and Samantha Goober is the lighting technician. They are joined by Andrew Frost, Emily Martin, Caroline Coe, Zaven Ovian and Samantha Ellis.

Disney’s “Alice in Wonderland, Jr.” will be performed in the newly renovated 800-seat, air conditioned Fogelberg Auditorium of Burlington High School, located at 123 Cambridge Street, Burlington. Reserved seating tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for students and senior citizens and can be purchased at http://www.burlingtontickets.org/. For more information please call 781-A-FUN-TIC. Fogelberg Auditorium is handicapped accessible (please phone 781-270-1860 for special assistance).

LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS Devours Burlington This Weekend

Need we say more? A picture (well, ok, a few) is worth a thousand words.

Little Shop of Horrors

Fogelberg Auditorium of Burlington High School

June 25 & 26

7:30 pm
$15/adults; $10 students and sr. citizens

Tickets available at the door

Info: 781-A-FUN-TIC

"THE CRUCIBLE" Joins List of Most Memorable BHS Productions

The Burlington High School Drama Club has outdone itself this year with its presentation of The Crucible, by Arthur Miller on December 4 and 5. The production boasted a large cast of Burlington High School students and of the 21 cast members, 11 came from the ranks of the music department as did every member of the set construction and stage crew!

In 2006 the Burlington High School Drama Club, under the guidance of advisor/director Sue LaVoie, decided to produce a fall play to give theatre opportunities to students early in the school year. The first three productions were comedies with the inaugural production in 2006 of Fools, a comedy by Neil Simon, followed in 2007 by a more high-brow comedy, The Importance of Being Earnest,by Oscar Wilde. The year 2008 brought a new advisor/director, Anne Ford, to the Drama Club and another Neil Simon comedy, Rumors, was brought to life.

This year, however, opened a new chapter and level of performance at BHS with the production of The Crucible, a political allegory, addressing two events in American history: the Salem witch trials and the McCarthy hearings. Shannon Janovitz, BHS English teacher and Stage Manager for the production, commented that the play “addresses themes of personal and social responsibility, as well as fear, hysteria, and the corruption of power,” and further described it as “a strong example of protest literature … it is at once engaging and thought-provoking.” She concluded that The Crucible’s “intentions are to leave audiences with both a sense of hope for humanity, and an understanding of what it means to be socially responsible.”

The student actors in The Crucible were outstanding in their portrayals of the Salem Witch Trial era characters, taking on not just the subject matter in such a mature production, but also the understanding of period physical traits, mannerisms and dialogue. Bravo and kudos to each and every one of the performers (listed in order of appearance): Michael Keating as Reverend Samuel Parris, Futaba Shioda as Betty Parris, Michelle Lee as Tituba, Chelsea Rose as Abigail Williams, Taylor Waisnor as Susanna Wallcott, Maria Perfetti as Mrs. Ann Putnam, Andrew Maurer as Thomas Putnam, Stephanie Swiszcz as Mercy Lewis, Marissa Cote as Mary Warren, Kevin Parker as John Proctor, Emily Murgo as Rebecca Nurse, Danielle Schissler as Giles Corey, Rameez Pervaiz as Reverend John Hale, Caroline Coe as Elizabeth Proctor, Peter DeBarros as Francis Nurse, Katie Baker as Ezekial Cheever, Chris Coe as Marshall John Willard, Stuart Gelin as Judge Hathorne, David Murray as Deputy-Governor Danforth, Giovanna Fernandes as Martha Corey/Ruth Putnam and Bridget Hoarty as Sarah Good.

BHS productions not only provide opportunity for students on stage but they also develop skills and leadership backstage. The following students held backstage and tech responsibilities during The Crucible: Daryn Starkey as Assistant Stage Manager, John DiRusso as Lighting Engineer, Chris LaRocque as Sound Engineer, Tori Carrabino as Prop Master, Jessica Olin as Assistant Sound Engineer and Natalie Casey as Hair and Makeup specialist. Set Construction and Stage Crew members were Nick Abruzzese, Tori Carrabino, Edward Chilliest, Sam Cote, Ian Drummond, Chris LaRocque, John Kelley, Jessica Olin, Daryn Starkey and Nicholas Stewart.

Also helping to stage the show were Tim Rose on Set Construction and Publicity, Vanessa Ovian as Public Relations Manger, Chet Maguire on Publicity, Kate McMahon on Set Construction and Ticket Management, Rob Ford on Graphics and Music and Alan McRae (BHS Science) as Videographer.

Finally, this production would not have been possible without the expertise and professionalism of Anne Sawyer Ford as Director (also Poster and Program Designer), Shannon Janovitz as Stage Manager and John Middleton-Cox as Lighting and Sound Designer. These three individuals put their heart and soul into every moment they spent with the students in the preparation and execution of this production, securing a place for The Crucible at the top of the list of memorable productions at BHS.


Special Note: The BHS Music Boosters Association used the production nights as a fundraising opportunity by selling concessions before the performance and during intermission.