ASHLAND NEWS
by Susan Feeney-Hopkins
The Ashland District Middle and High School students showed off their singing and acting chops during their three-show performance of the musical “Seussical Jr.” held on the weekend of April 5-7.
Directed by Ashland educator Shari Ward, the musical is an adaptation of the Broadway musical (of the same name) based on the works of Dr. Seuss. The musical is an amalgamation of many of Seuss’ most famous books. What is so fun about this musical is that it combines characters from various Seuss books that never met in the stories as Seuss wrote them, but in this story, are brought together.
The Cat in the Hat, played by Kali Pelletier, served as the emcee of the musical. The talented Pelletier was immersed in character, and with the same mannerisms and charisma of the Seuss original, confidently improvised her way around the stage. Cassidy Goulet was cast as the loveable Horton the Elephant. Goulet’s role was one of the featured characters in the musical and she played her role convincingly, making the audience care and become immersed in Horton’s world.
Rebecca Libby, 17, as the Sour/Young Kangaroo, displayed her growing vocal talent in several powerful solos. Gabrielle Cyr, 17, was cast as the beautiful Mayzie LaBird and convincingly played the character, who was stunning to look at, but a lazy and irresponsible bird. Much different from her own character, its clear Cyr is a good actress and a good bird!
Hannah Stratton, 13, gave a strong performance in the role of JoJo Boy. As one of the main characters, Stratton’s talent and ability is admirable for such a young actor. The ever-talented Shea Craig, 18, held the role of Gertrude McFuzz, an awkward and determined bird with a one-feathered tail of which she is ashamed. In her obsession to have a bigger tail, she goes to great lengths to achieve it, only to become unable to fly.
The Wickersham Brothers (monkeys) were mischievously played by middle school students Lucas Craig, Micayla Driscoll and Hailey McNally. The lovely Bird Girls, played by Brittany Harris, Marissa Chasse, Jasmine Clark and Cassie Bolstridge, kept the rhythm of the show with their presence and background vocals. The Who-Ville characters included Rachel Gillis, 16, as the Mayor of Who-Ville, Fallyn Tardie, 16, as his wife, along with Alexis Craig, Laura Sturgeon and Kayla Cote. Tim Tarr, 14, played multiple roles in the musical, bringing a sense of humor and fun to the stage. Other students involved “behind the scenes” were stage crew members April Godsoe, Sophie Theriault, Josiah Jackson and Caitlin Paradis.
Accompanying the actors were the members of the pit band including students Ally Beaulier, clarinet, and Alexis Flewelling, trumpet. The band also included Mrs. Sarah Diette, piano; Mr. Jon Simonoff, brass; and Jenna Hartung, reeds. The pit musicians were a talented and entertaining group providing the important musical sound effects perfectly in sync with the actors. The set design and costumes were fantastically colorful keeping with the Seuss signature style. Art educator Susan Beaulier and her art students, along with Simonoff’s music students, assisted with the prop design and painting. Tom Ward donated his time and skill with the set construction.
All of the students participating in the musical are talented musicians and actors; each of them provided valuable experience to allow the story to be told. It was a very professional and entertaining show. It is clear a tremendous amount of hard work and commitment was applied by the team of actors. The students should be very proud of this fantastic production! A life lesson is fundamental in all Dr. Seuss stories and in “Seussical Jr.,” the moral of the story is that no person is too small; and we all have a place in the universe and in our small town.
Portage Lakers Snowmobile Club fundraising a success
The Portage Lakers Snowmobile “Groomer Fund-raising Event” was by all accounts a huge success. Club members rallied together and through hard work and dedication were able to pull off a successful fund-raising event on extraordinarily short notice. The club held day and night fund-raising events in town on Saturday, April 6 starting with a townwide bottle drive beginning at 9 a.m. They had five vehicles of volunteers going house-to-house collecting bottles and some homes without bottles generously gave cash donations.
Later that evening, the club held a dance at Dean’s Motor Lodge accepting “very generous” donations in lieu of a cover charge. During the dance, they held an auction with approximately 30 items ranging from old 45 records to an 8-by-10 shed. The club is still gratefully accepting donations. Please send your donation to: PLSC, P.O. Box 149, Portage Lake, Maine 04768.
Susan Feeney-Hopkins is the correspondent for Ashland, Portage Lake, Oxbow, Masardis, Garfield, Nashville Plantation and the surrounding areas. She can be reached at 227-7760 or Feenhop@aol.com.
