WInne the Pooh & Pals Come to hackettstown

After two years without being on stage, the Hackettstown Theater Department is back with “The House at Pooh Corner," an endearing play about friendship and growing up. The play follows Christopher Robin and the Pooh Crew after the Robin family decides to send Christopher to Education, and his plan to stay with his friends instead. The show is simplistic and heart-warming, with jokes for all ages and a beautiful story sure to bring back the feeling of childhood wonder to each audience member.

The cast consists of students from each grade level at Hackettstown in the eleven roles as well as in the large crew. The bonds the beloved 100 Acre Woods characters have with one another parallel the relationships the cast and crew have at Hackettstown, each actor expressing that they are glad to be back performing with those they care for the most.

“The community is so welcoming,” said freshman Gracie Bielski who plays Owl.

“Everyone here is like a family.” Junior Ellie Predergast, who plays Roo, recounts how, “The show is very emotional because everyone is back together.” She went on to say that she feels as if, “We emit that energy to the audience and each other (…) it’s so good to be back.”

Christopher Robin, played by Junior Joey Ratz, is glad that, “We are back and not doing the show virtually.” After having played Charlie Brown in last year's musical production of “You’re A Good Man Charlie Brown."

The seniors, who have not performed at Hackettstown consistently due to the closing of the auditorium their freshman year, are thankful to be on stage no matter the circumstance; the seniors participating in the show include Tommy Buchanan (Tigger), Emily Kinoshita (Rabbit), Riley Ferguson (Pooh), Angelina Santiago (Crew), and Ryan Danielson (Crew).

The cast and crew would like to thank Mrs. Higgins for being a wonderful director as well as role model throughout the show this year and the struggles over the years for the department.