Lyndonville/Medina students bring back their school musical

Performance will be shown virtually with no in-person crowd

Photos courtesy of Lyndonville school district: Alissa Klinetob (a Lyndonville senior) is Marmee and Seagan Majchrzak (a Medina sophomore) portrays Beth in Lyndonville/Medina’s production of Little Women.

LYNDONVILLE – It was just over a year ago when Lyndonville and Medina drama students experienced the disappointment of having their show, Mama Mia, cancelled after months of rehearsals. The Covid-19 pandemic closed the curtain on high school musicals shows throughout New York State.

Lyndonville and Medina, which work together on a musical, are back with a new show. They have Covid safeguards in place, including no in-person audience. The show has been filmed and will go “live” online Friday until next Sunday, March 28.

Qasim Huzair (a Lyndonville senior) portrays Professor Bhaer and Sophia Cardone (Medina senior) stars as Jo.

The leads in the shows are wearing clear masks, which won’t conceal their facial expressions, which was important to director Jennifer Trupo.

“Last year was so heartbreaking,” Trupo said about the show being canceled. “A bunch of our seniors never got to make their last bow.”

This year Lyndonville and Medina are performing Little Women. The cast is smaller than recent Lyndonville/Medina musicals, but the show includes a full ensemble and band. There are 23 student sin the cast, and five more students as assistants.

Trupo and the students saw a video of a Buffalo school performing a musical with the clear masks. Trupo wanted similar masks for her students.

“The clear masks make all the difference because this is a very emotional show,” she said. “With fabric masks we couldn’t see facial expressions.”

The musical is based on the novel by Louisa May Alcott, a coming-of-age story set after the Civil War. The plot focuses on the four March sisters— traditional Meg, wild and aspiring writer Jo, timid Beth and romantic Amy.

To ensure the safety of the students and staff, auditions were held online and many of the initial rehearsals were done through Google Meets. The cast and crew transitioned to the stage with safeguards in place to finalize and record the production.

Trupo said she is grateful the two schools are all to put on a full show, even if it won’t be in front of a cheering audience.

“We’re so thankful we have our ensembles, and to have a musical,” Trupo said. “We’re so thankful our administration has allowed us to do this and our community is supporting us and that we have this outlet for the kids.”

For information about tickets, click here.

Evie Schultz (a Medina senior) performs the role of Meg and Jacob Corser (a Lyndonville senior) portrays John Brooke.