Over the weekend of April 6th to April 8th, the Drama Club students went on their annual trip to New York City. This three-day trip was filled with fun and exciting activities that transpired from early in the morning to late at night. The trip always includes seeing three shows, either on broadway or off-broadway, as well.

This year the trip planned for the shows Puffs Or Seven Increasingly Eventful Years At A Certain School Of Magic And Magic, and The Band’s Visit. The students also had a chance to take workshops on either stage combat or learning part of the choreography for the opening number from Once On This Island, which included meeting someone from the show. The excursion also had a boat trip around the Statue Of Liberty as well as wonderful restaurants.

Ashley Buckridge, freshman at Hingham High, said, “My favorite part of the trip was probably Ellen’s Stardust Diner. I’d never been before and it was an awesome first experience. It was just super fun having people sing right next to you and it was all good songs like Broadway stuff. I was jamming out the whole time.“

The first show the students saw was Puffs Or Seven Increasingly Eventful Years At A Certain School Of Magic And Magic,  which is about another perspective from the famous Harry Potter books. The show follows the point of view of the Hufflepuffs, who are also referred to as Puffs in the play. The Puffs are known as loyal, kind misfits who need a home. Their story is told by a wizard named Wayne and his group of friends as they battle You-Know-Who while also trying not to get overshadowed by the famous Harry Potter and his tale.

The cast for this show featured many different characters with many different personalities. The character of Wayne was played by Zac Moon, Oliver was played by Langston Belton, Susie was played by Madeleine Bundy, Sally was played by Jessie Cannizzaro, J. Finch was played by Nick Carrillo, the Narrator was played by A.J Ditty, Megan was played by Julie Ann Earls, Cedric was played by James Fouhey, Leanne was played by Andy Miller, Hannah was played by Eleanor Philips, and Earnie Mac was played by Stephen Stout.

This amazing show also had a very creative crew along with its cast. Puffs Or Seven Increasingly Eventful Years At A Certain School Of Magic And Magic was written by Matt Cox and directed by Kristen McCarthy Parker with original music by Brian Hoes. Further, the production designers were Liz Blessing and Madeleine Buddy, the costume designer was Madeleine Bundy, and the lighting designer was Michelle Kelleher.

“My favorite show was the Puffs,” continued Ashley Buckridge. “I’m a huge Harry Potter fan so it was fun seeing a parody of it. I also thought it was super interesting seeing the stories from another point of view. The show was also an emotional ride because it was both hilarious and kind of sad. Puffs was definitely my favorite.”

The second show Once On This Island is about a young woman who falls in love with a boy who lives on the other side of their island. The boy gets injured in a car cash and the young woman prays to the gods and pledges to save his life. The boy is later on separated from the woman, but she soon travels to an unknown place by following her heart.

The show is a beautiful work of music and acting, both of which that caused the audience to bust out in laughter or sudden tears.
The wonderful cast of the show helped tell a heartfelt tale and bring the audience into the story as if it too was involved in it.

The character of Ti Moune was played by Hailey Kilgore, Isaac Powell as Daniel, Erzulie was played by Lea Salonga, Asaka was played by Alex Newell, Agwe was played by Quentin Earl Darrington, Papa Ge was played by Tamyra Gray, Tonton Julian was played by Phillip Boykin, Mama Euralie was played by Kenita R. Miller, Andrea was played by Alysha Deslorieux, and the Little Girl was played by both Emerson Davis and Mia Williamson.

Behind this amazing show also was an equally amazing crew. The original book is by Lynn Ahrens, but the music and lyrics for the show were composed by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty and the the orchestrations were done by Michael Starobin and AnnMarie Milazzo. The show was directed by Michael Arden and choreographed by Camille A. Brown with musical director Alvin Hough Jr, set designer Dane Laffrey, costume designer Clint Ramos, lighting designers Jules Fisher and Peggy Eisenhauer,  sound designer Peter Hylenski, and hair/wig and make-up designer  Cookie Jordan.

Freshman Margaret Asmes said, “I think my favorite part [of the whole trip] was just getting to be with my friends and having the experience of getting to see so many shows in New York. And my favorite show was probably Once On This Island because it was really beautiful, but the Puffs was really funny so I liked that one a lot too.”

The other show the Drama Club saw was The Band’s Visit. This show is about a traveling band that, instead of going to the correct location it is intended to go to, ends up landing on a small desert in Israel. The story is about the one night that the band is stuck there and how so much can change in so little time.

The cast included the character of Tewfiq played by Dariush Kashani, Dina played by Katrina Lenk, Itzik played by John Cariani, Camal played by George Abud, Zelger played by Bill Army, Haled played by Ari’el Stachel, Avrum played by Andrew Polk, Julia played by Rachel Prather, Sammy played by Jonathan Raviv, Telephone Guy played by Adam Kantor, Anna played by Sharone Sayegh, Papi played by Etai Benson, Iris played by Kristen Sieh and Simon played by Alok Tewari.

The Band’s Visit also had an impressive crew. The music and lyrics from the show are by David Yazbek, the book is by Itamar Moses, and the screenplay is by Eran Kolirin. This particularly showing was directed by David Cromer and choreographed by Patrick McCollum. The set was designed by Scott Pask, the costumes were designed by Sarah Laux, the sound was designed by Kai Harada, the lighting was designed by Tyler Micoleau, the orchestrations were by Jamshied Sharifi, the music was directed by Andrea Grody, and the music was supervised Andrea Grody and Dean Sharenow.

Though this trip was a pretty short one, it created more memories than one person can count—from early wake-up call to half-asleep students stumbling off the bus. This trip was the silver lining some students had been looking forward to since the beginning of the year. For some, the bus ride home was a sad goodbye. Others spent the ride thinking of the trip that will occur next year and all the new memories and maybe even new friends they will make then.