Cheers reach miles away, spotlights blaring the signal of the actors, and anticipation peeks as tall as a skyscraper as the GHS Thespians present this year’s musical, “Oklahoma!” 

“I am extremely excited to do Oklahoma. It is an outstanding musical. It has a little bit of everything in it. It has comedy, drama, good music, so all around, it will be an excellent show,” Mr. Jeremiah Bonner, assistant director, said.

Oklahoma is destined to be a big hit, but nerves run high because this musical is the biggest he has ever participated in.

“ I think this will be the biggest cast I have ever worked with, so it is the biggest show I have ever done. Tech has a lot more work to do because there are many more moving pieces compared to the fall play, which was just a stagnant set. There were not many changes in the play, but in the musical, there is a light change. For every note change, sounds will constantly have to be adjusted, and the curtains and sets will constantly be moving throughout,” Mr. Bonner said. 

Mr. Bonner expressed his hopes for this show. 

“I hope we get as many really good students in the show as possible. Once we perform the show, I hope many people take away themes that they can sit back and think, ‘wow that was a really good show,” Mr. Bonner said. 

As head director, Mrs. Amy Hayes is carrying the weight of a thousand boulders to bring an outstanding production to Greenwood. 

“ I hope that we can broaden our reach in the community and the school so that people who may not usually come to musicals will decide to come. I want to be able to bring a lot of people in from our community and entertain them for a couple of nights,” Mrs. Hayes said.  

Mrs. Hayes revealed why she chose to go with this production. 

“It is a really good musical for teaching students. It has great singing that teaches the students a lot of skills. It has a great story, and a real crowd pleaser. I think that people of all  ages will really like it,” Mrs. Hayes said.

Oklahoma is a huge musical, so many things differ with this show compared to the fall play. 

“ With the play, it is usually a smaller cast so that you can be a little more free with your schedules. But with the musical, there are many more moving parts and components, so the preparation starts a lot sooner and involves a lot more people,” Mrs. Hayes said. 

The directors’ right-hand-man, sophomore Ava Ryan, explained her current role in the show.

“ I am the stage manager for this show, so I oversee each tech team. At rehearsals I’ll be taking notes and recording what needs to be done each rehearsal,” Ryan said.  

Ryan revealed her experience with being in these GHS productions. 

“ I have been on the crew since my freshman year, and I became stage manager during the musical last year. I had to take on a lot of responsibilities beyond just one job,” Ryan said.

She is determined to try her hardest to bring a fantastic show like this one to life for the audience. 

“ I am so nervous for this show because there are so many things we have to get done in a couple of months, but I think seeing all the new people who are coming to perform and just making memories with them as the show proceeds makes all the stress worth it,” Ryan said.

Although the cast and crew have a lot on their plates, they are working to truly bring life to the auditorium stage again. 

“ I feel like people will enjoy all of the different components. A lot of people think it will just be basic, but there are a lot of fight scenes and drama that I think people will enjoy,” Mrs. Hayes said.