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West Mifflin students focus on dancing for 'No, No, Nanette'
Wednesday, March 07, 2001 By Julie Spohn
Ooh, crackerjack! "No, No, Nanette," West Mifflin Area High School's latest musical, took a little one-step from the school's earlier shows.
"It's the biggest dance show we've ever done," said vocal and artistic director Melissa Prutz of the Tony-winning musical comedy that was staged Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Teacher Vito DiSalvo was executive director.
The 1925 show revolves around a proper young lady who wants to have some fun with her flapper friends in Atlantic City before getting married.
Not only is "Nanette" the biggest dance show the school has mounted, it's also the first musical to feature tap dancing.
"Tap almost died awhile back," said Choreographer Audrey Butler. She said "Nanette" gave students the desire to keep tap alive.
Tap numbers included "I Want to Be Happy" and "Tea for Two." Ten girls performed the tap routines.
No boys tapped, although some did a little soft shoe, Butler said. "We were really struggling to find boys who could do the tap routines," Prutz said.
All cast members were permitted to audition for the tap numbers, though only a few were able to pick them up, Butler said.
The dancers' tap experience varied widely. The most experienced was Jessica Barnes, who has been studying tap for about 10 years, Prutz said. The more experienced dancers helped the others with their routines.
To accommodate the range of experience, the tap routines were not particularly difficult, Butler said, and teaching them took about a quarter of the total dance practice time for the musical. The dancers had only about a month to learn the numbers.
"Nanette" also featured more partner dancing than have previous musicals, Prutz said.
She added "Nanette" has sparked so much student excitement about dancing that there may eventually be dance classes at the high school.
On opening night, the audience seemed to applaud and cheer most loudly for the tap numbers. The audience also chuckled at old-fashioned lingo like "cat's pajamas," "mind your own beeswax," and "dumb Dora."
The dance numbers complemented the elaborate and strikingly colored period costumes that included cloches, boas, harem pants and chiffon dresses.
Butler praised the cast's professionalism and maturity. "They're so well-behaved it's unreal."
Prutz said the students' goal during the musical was to have the audience "leave with a good feeling."
"There's so much energy connected with this show," Butler said.
"Nanette" is relatively rare among high school musicals. Prutz said she knows of only two other school districts in the area, Fox Chapel and Connellsville, that have performed the musical.
She said "Nanette" is part of the high school's trend toward staging lesser-seen musicals. Last year, the school put on "Bye, Bye, Birdie."
Although ticket sales were rather low for both musicals, Prutz said she hopes introducing audiences to rarer musicals will eventually generate more interest in such shows.
Prutz also said she would like to see more students participate in the musicals. Only about 100 were in the cast and crew of "Nanette." Many students at West Mifflin are more sports-oriented, she said.
Prutz said "Nanette" is "a fantastic show for high-schoolers" because it teaches students about early 20th-century dress, customs and attitudes toward women.
The musical was the first to be held in the high school's new auditorium, part of the school's ongoing multimillion-dollar renovation project.
Julie Spohn is a free-lance writer.
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