The instrumental department at Waupaca High School is intensifying its rehearsals for the opening of “Hello Dolly!”
The show opens on Sunday, Oct. 30, and tickets go on sale Monday, Oct. 17.
Under the direction of Mark Kryshak, band members have been wading through a show packed with musical selections. Without the dedication, musical abilities and personal sacrifices of these musicians, the curtain would never open.
Students spend many hours of rehearsals in individual and in group practices in preparation for the opening performance. The pit band and piano accompanist, Wanda Eikenbary, are some of the hardest working groups of individuals in the musical production.
The band must provide the music for all of the solos, the chorus and the dancers, as well as the overture and scene change music. Members of the cast and chorus usually have a few select numbers, while the members of the pit orchestra must accompany every selection.
Composers and arrangers of Broadway musicals have New York pit musicians in mind when they create a musical score. The instrumental skills necessary to perform a Broadway show take more time to develop than do the acting, singing and dancing demands. It requires daily rehearsal and individual practice to really play the score.
Throughout the years, musicians of the Waupaca Instrumental Department have proven they can perform the show music without missing a beat.
This year’s pit orchestra features the following instrumentation and who will be playing the instruments: violin – Izzati Soekarsono; cello – Sarah Bauer; keyboard bass – Emily Block; keyboard strings – Mark Kryshak; flute – Kiley Mullet; clarinets – Marisa Landsverk, Cassie O’Brien and Amber Mullet; bass clarinet – David Folan; trumpets – Stanford Mitchell, Kierstan Leaf and Claire Edel; trombones – Claire Kiessling and Kaylee Biba; tuba – Ben Olson; percussion – Emily Bolwerk and Christen Harrington; and piano – Wanda Eikenbary.
Production dates for “Hello, Dolly!” are 2:30 p.m. Sunday Oct. 30; 7:30 p.m. Tuesday Nov. 1; 7:30 p.m. Thursday Nov. 3rd; and 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 5.
Order tickets by calling the high school office at 715-258-4131, ext. 1001.
All tickets are $8 with a 50 percent senior citizen discount (for those age 62 and older) on Sunday and Tuesday.
Seats are reserved and sold on a first-come, first-served basis.
Tickets not picked up by curtain time go on sale during the playing of the overture. Unclaimed tickets will also be sold on a first-come, first-served basis. People are encouraged to call the school for the cancellation of tickets.