Source: Hometown Life
Author: Brad Kadrich
When you've got nearly 50 kids who either already know how to dance or are willing to learn, you might as well put them to good use.
That seems to be the philosophy they're using at Mercy High School in Farmington Hills, where the school's drama club is preparing for its production of the Broadway icon, "42nd Street." The production hits the Mercy stage March 10-12.
Director Kathy Sill said the group was looking for a great dance play.
"We wanted a big dance show, and '42nd Street' has amazing tap numbers," Sill said. "It features a number of girls, which we're always looking for. So it's a win-win."
The story focuses on the efforts of famed dictatorial Great White Way director Julian Marsh to mount a successful stage production of a musical extravaganza at the height of the Great Depression. Mercy, an all-girls school, is bringing the show to life with 48 performers in the cast and another 54 either working on crew or in the pit.
The cast includes boys from surrounding high schools, including AIM High School, Farmington, Redford Union, Novi Detroit Catholic Central and St. Mary's in Orchard Lake.
The cast began rehearsals in November, forced to start a little earlier due to the impending marriage of technical director Ann McDougal, who got married Nov. 18.
In addition to rehearsals, many cast members took extra dance lessons with choreographer Krista Eschbach, who started them out with basic taps steps then progressed as the class learned. While the lessons were a little though, they contributed to the overall look of the show.
"Sometimes I was a little strict with them," Eschbach said. "I want them to sound perfect. I want them to sound like one dancer, even though there are 50 pairs of feet out there."
That's not a problem for junior Cara Forfinski, who plays ingenue Peggy Sawyer, who gets her big break through an injury to the show's star. Forfinski has been dancing since she was a little girl and who was mesmerized by the traveling production of "42nd Street" years ago when it came to Detroit.
Playing Peggy is all Forfinski could have hoped.
"It's a dream role," said Forfinski, last seen on stage as the Little Red Headed Girl in "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown" last fall. "Peggy is very driven. She knows what she wants and she goes and gets it."
She gets it at the expense of star Dorothy Brock, who suffers an injury that allows Peggy to step into the role. Brock is played by veteran Mercy actor Kylie Kreucher, who played Sally in "Charlie Brown" last fall.
The problem is, Kreucher has to play against her own personality, because Dorothy Brock is "a diva," and Kreucher "is not."
"I think (Brock) is a little big for her britches," Kreucher said. "But she's worthy of all the acclaim she gets, and I admire that. It was difficult for me to understand how to play her, because I'm not a diva. Once I got the key to playing her, I could let loose."
Where she couldn't let loose was in her vocals. Kreucher is a soprano; Dorothy Brock is an alto.
"She's out of my comfort zone (in range)," Kreucher admitted. "But I'm happy I got the opportunity, because it really expanded my range."
The cast and crew is pretty large — more than 100 kids are involved -— but that's fairly normal for a Mercy play. Sill said she and the kids all like it that way.
"We love to have kids involved in it," Sill said. "It's a creative outlet for them in support of the school. It teaches them teamwork."
"42nd Street" plays at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, March 10-11, and at 2 p.m. Sunday, March 12.