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Community Corner

George School Spring Musical Opens

Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris will be performed Friday, May 16 and Saturday, May 17, 2014 at 8:00 p.m. in Walton Center Auditorium. The production is a departure from other recent George School musical theater performances but still promises audience members the engaging evening at the theater they have come to expect.   

“It is set in a café in Paris in 1958. The show opens as the café is opening and the workers are coming in,” said Helen Harrison ’15, the stage manager for the production. “The entire show is made up of the songs of these people, their stories, and little vignettes of their lives focusing on war and suffering. It’s a beautiful show, I always have the chills.” 

“Each person is creating a character based on the songs assigned,” shared Sydney Johnson ’17. “Making sure the songs tell the story really well is a challenge. Understanding the songs and getting to know the character you’ve created and knowing what you’re feeling, and what you’re trying to get across is important.” 

Unlike most musical theater performances at George School, Jacques Brel is considered environmental theater and promises to involve the audience on an entirely different level. 

“The audience is included in the environment we’re creating—some of them will be seated at tables and served food and drink, and some will even be invited up on stage, it’s really interactive,” said Zaid Walter ’14. “We’re inviting the audience to be part of it, there is no ‘fourth wall’ like there usually is in theater.”

“The second you enter Walton, you are in the café,” shared Helen. “The lobby will be decorated to reflect the design of the stage and we hope to serve refreshments to the audience during intermission.” Scott Crandall, stagecraft and design teacher, along with Student Directors Sunny Duz ’14, Asiya Fricke ’14, Arielle Haug ’14, Tatiana Af Geijerstam-Lindberg ’15, and Stage Manager Helen have been instrumental in imagining the lobby design and researching appropriate costuming and food for the time period. 

“I’m enjoying the free-form aspect of the show. It’s very different from anything else I’ve done here. Since you aren’t constrained by a script you’re able to characterize yourself as you will,” said Zaid. “The audience will really enjoy the atmosphere of it, I think it’s very unique.” 

Directed by Maureen West, Art Department head and theater teacher and four student directors, Asiya, Arielle, Sunny, and Tatiana, the show features set and lighting design by the talented Scott Crandall and his stagecraft students. Jackie Coren, George School vocal music teacher, is providing musical direction and the rehearsal and production keyboardist is Mark Yurkanin. The show features choreography by David Abers and Barbara Kibler, George School dance teacher and costumes designed by Linda Bee. 

Founded in 1893 by members of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), George School, a rigorous coed boarding and day school for grades nine through twelve, educates students from more than twenty states, forty-five foreign countries, and a variety of ethnic, racial, religious, and economic backgrounds. Through its commitment to diversity and the Quaker values of equality, integrity, and peacemaking, George School inspires students to be led by their own truths while respecting and appreciating opinions and beliefs different from their own. George School was one of the first schools in the United States to implement an International Baccalaureate diploma program. 

 www.georgeschool.org

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