The Student News Site of Westfield High School

Hi's Eye

The Student News Site of Westfield High School

Hi's Eye

The Student News Site of Westfield High School

Hi's Eye

Musical to debut

by Maddie Katz
Anyone Can Whistle, a rarely performed musical by award-winning composer Stephen Sondheim, will be presented by the theater department March 13–15 at 7:30 p.m. Sondheim is also the composer of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street and Company.
Senior Stage Manager Samantha Gruskin said: “[The musical is] about a bankrupt town where the only place doing any business is an insane asylum, named ‘The Cookie Jar.’ With the hope of restoring the town to greatness, the city council members engineer a fake miracle. From there, chaos ensues.”

Set Designer Mr. Roy Chambers said, “The show takes place during the late 50’s/early 60’s, and the set will reflect colors and dot patterns seen in Pop Art, to support the time period and tie together the varied set pieces.”

“The show is really allegorical in nature, so I wanted to capture that larger-than-life quality,” said senior Head Makeup Artist Alexa Derman. “As far as unique techniques go, this show is my first where most of the attention is going toward the hair. The hair in the period was iconic and there’s a lot of room to go very ‘big’ with it… I’m very excited about that,” she added.

Although there will be no pool making a splash for viewers this spring, as was seen in the fall play, the set still has unique aspects to portray the story. There is a constant change of scenery, and many of the props are on wheels as the story moves through different areas in the town, according to Gruskin.

“There are times that the set has to transform from old and depressed, to more vibrant,” said Chambers. “Things will fly in or out, rotate, or be hinged to reveal other details, which will have an impact on the storyline and setting.”

Gruskin added: “The show is extremely satirical. Through its absurdist plot, it comments on insanity and conformity in our society.”

The tickets are $12, and there will be reserved seating. Tickets can be purchased on ShowTix4U.com and will be on sale until 3 p.m. on March 13.

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