Beginning on Thursday, February 29th, The Niskayuna Music Department will be presenting Oklahoma! in our auditorium. Show times are  7:30 PM on February 29th, 7:30 PM on March 1st, and 2:00 PM and 7:30 PM March 2nd. Tickets cost $12 for Students and Senior Citizens, $16 for Adults, and $20 for Premium Seating. Premium Seats have been the latest addition to the musical, with seats just front of the stage, offering a clear view of the whole stage.

The musical Oklahoma! takes audiences to the Oklahoma territory in 1906. At the beginning of the musical, Oklahoma has not yet become a state and there is much excitement amongst the people in the territory about Oklahoma becoming a state. Throughout the musical, the audience is presented with two romantic conflicts taking place in the territory. The story centers around the romantic partners Curly (played by Noah Martinez) and Laurey (played by Layla Agamy). Their relationship is the talk of the town as the townspeople prepare for the box social that the community is holding. The box social is a gathering where meals are prepared beforehand and given to the highest bidder for the meal. At the box social, you will not only see romantic conflicts but class conflicts as well with the Farmers quarreling with the Cowmen. The second romance in the musical takes place between Will Parker (played by Jacob Ciesinski) and Ado Annie (played by Alexis Tull). Will Parker hopes to one day marry Ado Annie; but to do so, he must collect 50 dollars, a prerequisite set by Ado Annie’s father, Andrew Carnes (played by Joshua Milone). You can witness how this all plays out beginning February 29th!

Rehearsals for Oklahoma!  have been going on for many weeks now. Directors Mr. Hughes and Mrs. Pizzino-Catalano began rehearsing with the cast in late November. I was able to sit down and have a conversation with Alexis Tull, a lead member in Oklahoma! cast this year:

Q: What is your role in the musical this year?

A: I am playing Ado Annie!

Q: What has been your favorite thing about this musical so far?

A: I have really loved hanging out with my friends and meeting new cast members.

Q: How have rehearsals been?

A: They have been going pretty well. We’ve been moving pretty quickly in comparison to other musicals I have been in. We are having a lot of fun!

Q: Why should people come to this show?

A: We have worked really hard on this show and it’s different than anything we have done before.

Q: Thank you for taking the time to interview with me today.

I am also a part of the cast this year! I will be playing Ali Hakim, a Persian peddler who migrated to the Oklahoma territory. I can very much attest to Lexi’s interview in that rehearsals have been moving quickly and we feel prepared to serve our audience another amazing show this school year. This will be my third and last musical at Niskayuna High School. I would like to thank Mr. Hughes and Mrs. Pizzino-Catalano for having mentored me up to this moment and I am grateful for the opportunity they have given me to perform on Niskayuna’s mainstage. Our cast would also like to thank Friends of Music for all their hard work in not just presenting the musical, but the amazing concerts and performances that have already taken place this school year as well!

We hope to see you at the show! You can find the link for the tickets below: https://www.showtix4u.com/event-details/79201