“It’s A Hard-Knock Life”: DHS Crimson Company Prepares for “Annie”

Posted on March 1, 2017 by The Dunmorean

It’s been a “hard-knock life” for members of the Dunmore High School Crimson Company since the new year as they prepare to present their spring musical, Annie.

Opening night for this DHS production is at 7 p.m. on Thursday, March 30, at the Dunmore High School Auditorium. This family-friendly show, under the direction of Brian and Dawn McGurl, can also be seen on April 1, 5, 6, 7 and 8.

Little orphan Annie charms everyone’s hearts despite a next-to-nothing start in 1930s New York City. She is determined to find the parents who abandoned her years ago on the doorstep of an orphanage that is run by the cruel, embittered Miss Hannigan.

With the help of her fellow orphan girls, Annie escapes to the wondrous world of New York City. Annie foils Miss Hannigan’s evil plot and even befriends President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. She finds a new home and family in billionaire, Oliver Warbucks, and a lovable mutt named Sandy.

Leading the production as the title character of Annie is Lauren Brown. Mark Nealon will star as Oliver Warbucks; Madison Eagen as Grace Farrell; Cessna Pendon as Mrs. Hannigan; Nico Summa as Daniel “Rooster” Hannigan; Marisa Moraski as Lily St. Regis; Noah Cogliette as Drake; Luke Gratkowski as President Roosevelt; Matthew Kosack as the radio announcer; and Jack Culkin as Bert Healey.

The roles of the Boylan Sisters will be played by Kaitlin Ahern, Ashley Fischetti, Mackenzie Senatore and Julia Pasko.

Lily Conaboy, Arianna Costanzi, Lauren Grippi, Maria Micciche, Sophia Norvilas, Bell Pendon, Molly Sheets and Aleia Sileo will play the orphans.

Members of the ensemble are: Timothy Andrews, Elizabeth Brace, Colleen Brown, Molly Butler, Madison Castellano, Noah Cogliette, Colby DeSando, Abby Errico, Paige Flynn, Joe Ferguson, Ian Gratkowski, Julia Ingargiola, Lydia Meade, Will Meade, Tessa McDonald, Billy McDonough, Cori Pietrusckiewicz, Christian Reese, Emily Stedina and Matthew Valunas.

Running the show from behind the scenes are the stage managers — Anthony Behler, Spencer Asman and Robert Kersavage — along with assistant stage manager, Jonah Cogliette.

DHS Crimson Company Prepares for Fall Play

Posted on November 4, 2015 by The Dunmorean

Mark Nealon, Alexandra Asman and the rest of the Crimson Company are in rehearsal for their upcoming production of “The Twelve Daughters of Hercules.”

The Dunmore High School Auditorium has been a bustling with activity over the past few weeks with the Crimson Company in rehearsal for its fall production “The Twelve Daughters of Hercules” by Ben Kingsland. The play, directed by Brian and Dawn McGurl, will be performed on Nov. 18, 19, 20, and 21 at 7 p.m. each evening.

The comedy tells the story of the once heroic and strong Hercules, who is now a family man trying to cope without a son to carry on his legacy.

Junior Mark Nealon, who will also take on the role of Horton the elephant in the spring musical, “Seussical,” will play Hercules, the mighty Greek God turned father of twelve daughters.

“Hercules is getting older but still doesn’t appreciate all that he has,” said Nealon. “His daughters teach him the meaning of heroism.”

When a treasure is stolen from under his nose, he kisses his family goodbye and sets off, eager to relive his glory days. But as soon as he leaves, the monsters of his past come after the daughters he has left behind. Now Hercules’ daughters are off on an unexpected adventure to protect their family and prove to their famous father that girls can be heroes, too.

Junior Cessna Pendon, who drew rave reviews as Bloody Mary in last spring’s production of South Pacific, will play one of Hercules’ daughters, the gentle Phoebe.

“The play is really funny and has a great message about families,” Pendon said.

In addition to Pendon and Nealon, the large cast includes:

Alexandra Asman, Marisa Moraski, Aleia Sileo, Kaitlin Ahern, Lily Conboy, Ashley Fischetti, Ally Solsman, Allison Aronica, Madison Castellano, Arianna Costanzi, Emily Stedina, Tessa McDonald, Nico Summa, Lauren Brown, Joe Ferguson, Marchete Pendon, Tim Hopkins, Jack Culkin, Will Meade, Luke Gratkowski, Christian Reese, Julia Pasko Madison Eagen, Abby Errico, Tabitha Getz, Julia Ingargiola, Kathleen Kennedy, Amanda Lucas, Ariel Matticks, Sophia Norvilas, Molly Romeo, Billy McDonough, Ian Wagner, Mackenzie Senatore, Tom Sinkevich, and Will Hessmiller.

Caitlin McCafferty, Riley McNally, Maeve King and Melissa Schneider are stage managers.

Dunmore Drama Directors Celebrate 10 Years

Posted on June 10, 2015 by The Dunmorean

By Emily Fedor

Dawn and Brian McGurl prepare to put on a summer show at Dunmore High School.

Dawn and Brian McGurl play some tunes in the Dunmore High School auditorium as they prepare to put on their upcoming production, the 10 Year Alumni Cabaret. (Credit: Emily Fedor)

Brian and Dawn McGurl have created not only a club at Dunmore High School, but a family. This year marks the their 10-year anniversary as directors of the Crimson Company, Dunmore’s distinguished drama club, and they’re choosing to plan a family reunion the only way they know how—as a show.

The McGurls put together a show-stopping “alumni show” for their five-year anniversary with the club back in 2010, but this summer’s production is bound to be bigger and better as it will showcase double the talent.

Crimson Company alumni of the past ten years have been invited back to the stage they once called their home to take part in a cabaret style production. It will commemorate both past and future Crimson Company shows as well as celebrate the art of theatre as a whole with a plethora of toe-tapping musical numbers.

Emily Fedor sat down with Brian and Dawn to take a trip down memory lane and talk about their ten year journey as well as the upcoming alumni show and their plans for the future.

***

Emily Fedor: So how did you two first get involved with the DHS Crimson Company?

Brian McGurl: Mary Errico was the drama director, and our son Michael was involved.

Dawn McGurl: We helped out because that’s our thing, and I costumed “Guys and Dolls.” We were sitting in the house watching a rehearsal and Ms. Errico said that she was about to get married, and she thought it was time for her to step down. She just said “Would you two be interested in taking over? And we were like: “Wow. Yes, we’d love it!”

EF: How was the beginning of that journey for you?

DM: It was awesome. The kids were great. It was tough because the culture here is so sports-oriented. So for us, it was difficult to try to make those in-roads in the community. But everyone—Coach Henzes, Mr. Forgione, the parents, the community—was so welcoming and so supportive.

Members of the Crimson Company perform in “A Shepherd’s Christmas Play,” an original play by the McGurls, in 2011. (Credit: Kyle Svecz)

EF: Were there any big changes you made?

DM: We took the program to a different level. Before we took over, they used to do a musical every other year and then one play. We said that we can’t truly instruct that way. When you’re starting out, there are kids who aren’t quite there yet, and they need to have that experience before it’s their time to shine. So that [doing two shows a year] was the biggest change.

EF: What was the biggest challenge or obstacle you’ve had to tackle?

BM: When we started, our own kids were in it [the club], and all of the kids who were involved were our kids’ friends. Half the cast had been at sleepovers at our house throughout the years. These we like our kids, basically. Then once they graduated, the challenge has been trying to keep up with those kids that aren’t our own kids.

DM: That was a very big shift. Mr. McGurl teaches here so he knows the kids, but the feeling is different. We’ve also had other things that have happened, like losing Kelcey [Hallinan]. There are a lot of problems people don’t know are happening, and those things are heartbreaking. Life itself is always such a big challenge.

EF: What’s been the biggest reward for you over the years?

BM: Every show is its own reward. It’s so much fun to work on every show with the cast that we have and to create the thing that happens up on the stage. It’s really so much fun to have an idea and make it happen with a big group of people. It’s a ball.

DM: The most rewarding thing is sharing our passion with others and seeing what it does to their life. To see that freshman who is nervous and scared and see that transformation that they don’t see up close. That growth—that change—that you see in a kid…it’s so amazing to see.

Crimson Company alumni perform a number from Dunmore’s 2009 production of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.” (Credit: Emily Fedor)

EF: Do you have a favorite show out of those that you’ve done?

DM: We talk about this all the time. I loved “Once Upon a Mattress.” But I loved “Joseph [and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat],” too. That was such a special show—it was the perfect storm.

BM: I have a hard time picking because I love major parts of every one.

EF: Let’s switch to the present then: the alumni show. Where did that idea come from?

BM: We had a five-year plan when we took over. Dunmore is a sports town, and people thought “Oh, you can’t do theatre in Dunmore…” But our goal was to make Dunmore a theatre town, too, which we did. It’s on the map now of something that could happen. That was our goal for five years.

DM: Once we got there, we asked the kids if they wanted to come back, and they did. So we did that.

EF: What’s this show going to be like? Will it be different from the five-year anniversary show?

DM: This will be interesting to see because this spans ten years. Some of the kids are married and have kids. They have big boy and big girl jobs. But we’ve gotten a great response so far. It’s going to be the same format as the fifth year show. We’ll do a couple production numbers—maybe the Megamix [from “Joseph”]—and a choral piece. We’d really like to do something from all ten shows, but we’ll throw some new stuff in, too. It’s going to be a nice reset and energizer for the community and the students.

EF: Not that I want to ask this, but it’s my job… Now that it’s been 10 years, do you see an end in sight?

BM: I’m in my thirtieth year of my teaching career. 35 is the goal so I’m looking at retiring from Dunmore. The thing is that this is a club here, and the thing about extracurriculars is that this extends the classroom. There should be an active teacher in the district doing this.

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The alumni of the Crimson Company will take the stage on June 23 and 24. (Courtesy: Brian and Dawn McGurl)

DM: We want to leave it in capable hands because it’s important to us, and we think it’s important to the community and the students—especially when they’re cutting art funding left and right. But…we have planned out the next five shows. We’ll probably get a fifteenth year, but that could change. We don’t know.

***

The Crimson Company’s 10 Year Alumni Cabaret will be held Tuesday, June 23 and Wednesday, June 24at the Dunmore High School auditorium. The curtain will rise at 7:00 p.m. All proceeds from the show will help fund future Crimson Company productions and endeavors.