Welcome to the Golden Valley High School Theatre, and this production of The Music Man! For the second year in a row, the Drama and Music departments have joined forces to put on a major musical. This year, we are very excited to take you to the small town of River City, Iowa in the year 1912.
Bringing Rivery City to life has been a wonderful challenge. This show is an ambitious one. When Mr. Vasquez and I decided to pursue this show for the Spring Musical, I was nervous. This being our second year, I was unsure whether we could get the number of singers and dancers this show requires. Going into auditions back in February, I had no idea what was going to happen.
In Act 2, Harold says: "I always think there's a band, kid." This quotation is one of hope and optimisim. If there is one line that perfectly sums up this production, it's that one. At the auditions, the "band" came together. We had an amazing group of students show up, wanting to be in the show. I left the audtions optimistic that this show was possible. Yes, it would be a challenge and require a lot of work. Yes, it was the biggest show I've ever directed. Yes, it was a group of students, some of whom (like Alex, our Harold) have never been in a show before. But it was possible.
Throughout the rehearsal period, the cast quickly put in a tremendous amount of hard work. It was great to see them move from total strangers to friends. They showed maturity beyond their years and a sense of responsibility I would expect from only the most experienced of students. The cast came in after school, during lunch, on weekends, and on their Spring Break to work and rework parts of this show.
One of the most memorable days of this whole process was the day that our quartet first joined us for rehearsal. The rest of the cast was chatting before rehearsal began, and the quartet started to warm up. As they sang, the theatre went silent, and we all stood there in amazement. The gentlemen of the quartet instantly took on the status of rock stars. The cast couldn't wait to start singing with them. It was amazing to see these four very talented men from our community share their love of music and performing with the high school students and our high school students relish the opportunity to work with and learn from such talented performers!
The best part of the Spring Musical is how it has become part of the school culture. This is not just a show, it's starting to become a tradition. At the beginning of the year, band students started begging Mr. Vasquez to be part of the orchestra. Students from all over campus started asking which show we would be doing. Teachers started asking how they could help. To have this level of excitement at the beginning of the year gave me great hope for an amazing show, and that is what we are proud to present to you today.
I am thankful to have had the opportunity to work with an amazing group of students from all over the campus who came together to create this show. I am also humbled by the support and help provided by all of the GV staff members. These wonderful people gave up weekends, their Spring Breaks, and time with their families to choreograph dances, create costumes from scratch, and scour every thrift store between Merced and San Francisco to find just the right pieces to create just the right look. On all of the publicity, it says that "Golden Valley High School Presents..." And this is why. This show was not put on by one single department or individual. It is a representaiton of all the talent, care, and FUN we have here at Golden Valley. COUGAR PRIDE!
Matt Thomas
Director
"I always think there's a band, kid."
