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Riverview High School, April 4-12

Tuesday, May 06, 2003

This musical has been reviewed by two students. The first review is by Tracey Berg, of Perry Traditional Academy. A second review, by Frank Durochia, of St. Joseph High School, appears below

By Tracey Berg, Perry Traditional Academy

It has been said that it is the small things in life that make it worth living. This being said, it is the small things that distinguish Riverview High School's production of "Guys and Dolls."

First and foremost, Riverview paid more attention to the front of house than most high school musicals. The small lobby of the 10th Street Elementary School was filled with life-sized caricatures of the musical's central figures. Surrounding the doorways and spilling into the hall were production photos of the cast and crew. Riverview set itself apart also with their very professional programs.

Once inside the rather smallish auditorium, the little differences continued. The orchestra was seated in the normal position; however, their composition was anything but ordinary. There were several adults seated in the pit, playing along with the students. In addition, the conductor chose to stand in front of the musicians rather than sit, somewhat obstructing the view of the seats closer to the stage. The orchestra played very strongly, filling the room with the traditional swing sounds that accompany "Guys and Dolls". However, the trombone seemed to overwhelm the rest of the brass a bit too much. Unlike some high schools, Riverview seemed to balance their orchestra quite well between string and percussion, helping to balance the voices of the performers.

During the opening number, there were noticeable microphone problems. Many performers were extremely loud, while others were straining to be heard. This was handled quite professionally by going right on with the show. In this spirit, great credit has to be given to the Hot Box dancer who had her pearls tangled in her hair during "Take Back Your Mink."

Also noticed in the first scene, however, was one tiny flaw in the rather sleek look of "Guys and Dolls." Some of the girls wore poodle skirts while other women seemed to be more conservatively dressed. This came up again in the very last scene, where girls in poodle skirts mixed with boys in "Newsies"-type attire, circa late 1930's. The problem is that both costumes simply do not fit with the rest of the cast, and for that matter, neither costume fits the time period in which "Guys and Dolls" is set.

One of the great things about Riverview's performance is what wasn't noticed. The set transitions and scenery changes were absolutely impeccable. The scenery itself was well placed on triangle flats that rotated to reflect the setting of scene. The crew itself moved about stage without so much as a footfall to be heard. It will be a great disservice to Riverview if the crew is not nominated for a Gene Kelly Award. The crew made heavy use of a lighted scrim, helping to set the mood of the scene and eliminating the need for extremely elaborate stage sets. Great care was taken in spotlighting the appropriate actors, but the spotlights themselves seemed to be diffusing light across the audience, slightly detracting from the stage lighting.

The audience was very enthusiastic, consisting of the traditional mix of parents and friends. I was greatly impressed by the amount of parental and local support given. Parents, teachers, younger students and even the principal had some sort of hand in the performance, and it showed through in the cohesiveness of "Guys and Dolls." It was truly delightful to see a true community effort put forth!

By Frank Durochia, St. Joseph High School

To say that Riverview’s production of “Guys and Dolls” was great would be an understatement. Throughout the entire production I was sealed in my seat with my eyes glued to the stage as these high school performers became the characters they were emulating. Everyone knows that “Guys and Dolls” is a hard musical to perform -- I guess that goes with any musical -- but these students took the challenge, tossed it to the ground and molded something new, creating a luminescence on stage which could be seen for miles on end.

Upon entering the 10 th Street Elementary School in Oakmont, I noticed the creativity of the students sprawled on every wall. There were many pictures of the cast and crew and different references to them at just about every turn. The school was small, but you would have thought it was the Taj-Mahal with the dozens of students, friends and family that were circulating with smiles and anticipation.

The theater is small, but I’m accustomed to comfy little areas so I felt right at home. I hopped into my chair and instantly felt at ease while I watched the orchestra in the pit gear up for the event. The lights went low and the show began.

By the first scene I was hooked. The opening ballad had my toes tapping to a tune that I would end up humming long after I had left the makeshift theater. I was particularly amazed by the voices that these young kids were using. In all of my theater going I had yet to see high school students with that much talent.

As the scenes went on I grew more and more impressed by how well the performers were handling their roles. I must also give credit to the stage crew for such a wonderful set and changing scenes without the audience noticing.

The highlight of the musical by far was the scene in which one of our primary characters, Sky Masterson (played by Alex DiClaudio) takes Sarah Brown (played by Elise Hindmarsh) to a clubish area in Havana, Cuba. Through different events a dance breaks out that is in my opinion the most tantalizing part of the musical. I was completely enthralled.

Overall, all the performers blew me away, especially the singers. These Riverview students certainly have the ability to ride on their voices into a wonderful future. I would like to thank them for giving me one hell of a time and transforming an ordinary school auditorium into a place of enchantment and entertainment.