April 21, 22, 23, 2011
7:00 pm in The Studio
Tickets: $6 adults; $3 students/seniors
Tickets may be reserved in advance.

Every other year the Sant Bani School Theatre Department girds its loins, as it were, and puts on a musical comedy. This year, Mary Randall Vaiden (whose past SBS directing credits include Guys and Dolls, Bye Bye Birdie and Brutebeast) takes on Moby Dick! The Musical, the cult-hit in England, a wacky, campy and decidedly lo-fi version of Melville’s classic tale.

But isn’t Moby Dick a story with men only? No longer: Welcome to St. Godley’s School for Girls, which is about to close its doors due to lack of funds. Fortunately, one of the girls (played by sophomore Isabel Bogacz) has just finished writing a surefire hit musical that might save the day. The headmistress (in a gender-bending guy-plays-woman-playing-guy performance by senior Marc Gonzalez) nabs the role of Ahab for herself, and then leads her wayward girls, along with a couple of boys the girls have sneaked in (juniors Caleb Jaster and Adison Lintner), the somewhat deranged janitor (senior Dylan Dinger) and a security guard (faculty member Jonathan Powell) in a hastily put-together production as a last-ditch effort to save the school.

Plausible? Not in the least! Faithful adaptation? Hardly! However, the cast did get a serious introduction to the novel Moby Dick on March 12, when it took a field trip to Portsmouth to see The Whale, a remarkable one-man adaptation of the book written and performed by NYC actor/dancer/designer Carlo Adinolfi. Carlo has designed several sets for SBS productions over the years, including the beautiful set for the school’s 1990s production of The Good Person of Szechwan. He also built the set of little red wooden benches we have used in countless productions. In a talkback after the show, Carlo shared with the SBS cast why the novel inspired him to take what became a ten-year journey developing the piece.

In addition to the high school and junior high students and one staff member on the cast of Moby Dick! The Musical, we are delighted to have a great lineup on the production team, including new parent Irina Kirilenko (accompanist and vocal coach) as well as Libby Danahy, parent of an alum, wife of longtime staff member, and current SBS piano teacher. She will serve as vocal coach and rehearsal accompanist. Department head Craig Jaster is technical director and will play bass and lead the pit band. Rose Marie Marinace, parent and teacher, provides fodder for the dance sequences. Students in both art blocks and clubs are working on set and props under art teacher Tina Busch, whose recent design for the K-2 production of The Lorax wowed us all.