Eyes In The Wings: The Grand Finale

 Hayden Reid - Freshman

It's Showtime! 

Opening night for Wallkill Valley Regional High School's Drama and Music Department performance of Catch Me If You Can debuted on Friday, March 8th with two more shows on Saturday and Sunday. Months of hard work and dedication from the awesome cast finally came to fruition as they took to the stage. Excitement and energy was at an all time high during the performances making the show an absolute hit! Of course, it wouldn't have been so successful without the help of the lighting and sound companies, our hardworking crew and the wonderful orchestra.

Catch Me if You Can captures the story of con-artist Frank Abagnale Jr., magnificently played by senior Josh Mendez. Abagnale spends his life creating new personalities and eluding a frustrated detective Carl Hanratty, remarkably played by junior Jesse Diribe.  With other talented cast members such as seniors Olivia Owens, Skylar Tomlin, Fiona Postas, Lily Tobachnick, juniors Antonella Ferrari, Ryan Scussel, Annette Nathan, Maya Bekefi-Miskolczi, sophomores Jackson Saltzman, Josephine Nardini, freshmen Chloe Geuther, Sam Tobachnick, Hayden Reid, Luke Nathan, the ensemble, and of course, Ms. Molnar our director, Michael Majewski our co-director, Maddie Piper our choreographer, Catch Me If You Can has proven to be one of the best shows Wallkill Valley has performed to date.  

Many audience members do not realize the hard work and dedication that goes into making a successful production, especially the few weeks leading up to the big show. 

Jesse Diribe performs his show-stopping number "Don't Break The Rules" 

Photo Credits: Paul Micheal Kane courtesy of Instagram

Tech Week

Tech week is a very important week for productions. This is when the show really starts coming together. From adding the sound to the orchestra and finally donning costumes. The cast worked hard so the show could look phenomenal. With the show's first performance on Friday, the pressure was on during Monday's run through, which ended up being amazing. By Tuesday, the orchestra pit was added to the run through and as expected, the orchestra didn't skip a beat. Everything started coming together despite the rigorous and chaotic nature of tech week.

Catch Me If You Can requires a lot of energy and stamina. Every single dance number is complicated and lively which means cast members take every opportunity to rest whether it be in between performances or during free periods. Knowing these grueling hours will be worth it,  cast members are determined to put on the best show. Despite some silly mishaps during the runs, the whole cast had a blast. Even beyond the runs, we had some memorable stories to share. 

Did you happen to notice any of the cast members wearing something unusual during tech week? To motivate some of our very exhausted members, we assigned spirit day themes!
Week of 3/4-3/8

The Shows

All three shows were a major hit! From the dance numbers to the lighting, audience members praised every aspect of the performance.  In fact, many Wallkill students have been caught singing some songs from the musical, specifically the very catchy "Live in Living Color". It was a major success all around. Even weeks later, fans are still raving about how much they enjoyed the show. 

Josh Mendez and Jesse Diribe share the stage in this high energy opener "Live in Living Color".

Photo Credits: Paul Micheal Kane courtesy of Instagram