IN THE NEWS
FEBRUARY 8, 2024 - The West Warwick High School Players' winter musical, The 25 Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, was honored to receive twenty-one Ocean State Star Awards nominations! These nominations recognize exceptional work on and offstage. Winners will be announced in May and formally recognized at Ocean State Star Awards, our regional awards program associated with The Jimmy Awards.
Outstanding Musical
Outstanding Ensemble
Outstanding Orchestra
Outstanding Technical Achievement
Outstanding Direction - Richard Marchetti & Rikki Spelman
Outstanding Musical Direction - Richard Marchetti
Outstanding Costume Design - Emerald City Theatricals
Outstanding Stage Management - MAKAYLA YATES '25
Outstanding Lead Performer - Students who display excellent acting, dancing, and singing abilities in a lead role
SOPHIA DASILVA '26 as Marcy Park
JAKE GREGSON '26 as William Barfee
MICHAEL HUMPHRY '25 as Leaf Coneybear
ADDISON NORET '25 as Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre
TIRRELL ROBINSON '26 as Mitch Mahoney
SEBASTIAN ROSA '24 as Chip Tolentino
SARAH TOURVILLE '25 as Rona Lisa Peretti
ABBY TUCHON '24 as Olive Ostrovsky
Outstanding Supporting Performer - Students who display excellent acting and singing abilities in a supporting role
LUCAS MARTINS '26 as Vice Principal Douglas Panch
Outstanding Acting in a Musical - Students or ensembles who display excellent acting within a musical production
MICHAEL HUMPHRY '25 as Leaf Coneybear
SEBASTIAN ROSA '24 as Chip Tolentino
Outstanding Dancer - Student displaying excellent dance technique and execution
JAKE GREGSON '26 as William Barfee
ABBY TUCHON '24 as Olive Ostrovsky
Outstanding Musical
Outstanding Ensemble
Outstanding Orchestra
Outstanding Technical Achievement
Outstanding Direction - Richard Marchetti & Rikki Spelman
Outstanding Musical Direction - Richard Marchetti
Outstanding Costume Design - Emerald City Theatricals
Outstanding Stage Management - MAKAYLA YATES '25
Outstanding Lead Performer - Students who display excellent acting, dancing, and singing abilities in a lead role
SOPHIA DASILVA '26 as Marcy Park
JAKE GREGSON '26 as William Barfee
MICHAEL HUMPHRY '25 as Leaf Coneybear
ADDISON NORET '25 as Logainne Schwartzandgrubenierre
TIRRELL ROBINSON '26 as Mitch Mahoney
SEBASTIAN ROSA '24 as Chip Tolentino
SARAH TOURVILLE '25 as Rona Lisa Peretti
ABBY TUCHON '24 as Olive Ostrovsky
Outstanding Supporting Performer - Students who display excellent acting and singing abilities in a supporting role
LUCAS MARTINS '26 as Vice Principal Douglas Panch
Outstanding Acting in a Musical - Students or ensembles who display excellent acting within a musical production
MICHAEL HUMPHRY '25 as Leaf Coneybear
SEBASTIAN ROSA '24 as Chip Tolentino
Outstanding Dancer - Student displaying excellent dance technique and execution
JAKE GREGSON '26 as William Barfee
ABBY TUCHON '24 as Olive Ostrovsky
JANUARY 2024 - Professional review of THE 25th ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE written by Nicole Labresh
Of all the strange topics to make a musical about, a spelling bee may be the strangest. And yet, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is a delight of a show. It is in equal parts riotously funny and unexpectedly heart-wrenching–and many audiences will be pleased with the short-and-sweet intermissionless 90-minute runtime. If the strangeness of the subject matter hasn’t put you off, you’re in for a treat.
After pulling out all the stops last season with their exclusive production of Frozen, West Warwick High School is keeping it lowkey with their production of Spelling Bee (then again, with a second musical just two months away, undoubtedly things have been anything but quiet in their theatre department). Compared with the ginormous cast of Frozen, Spelling Bee is a much smaller show with a cast of only nine. The technical elements are also much simpler–after all, the setting of a spelling bee would be a school auditorium, so not much is required to transport the audience to the world of the show.
While the tech and the premise are quite simple, the show is carried by its quirky cast of characters. A lot of the character work is supplied by the costumes, provided by Emerald City Theatricals. With one glance, audiences already have a good sense of the characters, from zany Leaf’s (Michael Humphry) colorful, dinosaur-adorned getup to precocious Logainne’s (Addison Noret) presidential campaign trail-ready suit.
Spelling Bee is by nature an ensemble show. Each character gets their chance to shine–and shine, many of them do. Some of the standout performances include Sebastian Rosa as Chip Tolentino, particularly in a perfectly executed “My Unfortunate Distraction” (fans of the musical will know this is a toned-down version of the song from what was on Broadway)–not to mention his brilliant physical comedy as his attraction to a fellow-speller’s sister ultimately leads to his elimination–and Sophia DaSilva as Marcy Park, a Wednesday Addams-esque perfectionist who learns to let go and fail for once, in “I Speak Six Languages.”
As the comedic backbone of the show, we have Lucas Martins as the unstable Vice Principal Panch. In addition to the wacky antics of the kids, the bulk of the humor comes from the crazy words and especially the example sentences (“In the schoolyard, Billy protested that he wasn't cockeyed. ‘I suffer from strabismus,’ he said, whereupon the bullies beat him harder.”). There is also some improv called for with the addition of guest spellers: ambitious audience members have the option of signing up to compete in the bee as well. The antics of the guest spellers on opening night led to some hilarious, non-scripted moments with Martins.
Rounding out the cast is Jake Gregson as William Barfee, the lugubrious and cocky runner-up from last year with a particularly unique spelling strategy: his “magic foot”; Tirrell Robinson as Mitch Mahoney, an ex-convict doing his community service by consoling eliminated spellers; and Sarah Tourville as Rona Lisa Peretti, the bee host reliving her glory days when she won the the 3rd annual bee.
While every cast member gets their moment, no one brings the house down quite like Abby Tuchon as the sweetly tragic Olive Ostrovsky. Audiences may remember her as Anna in Frozen last year, and she brings a similar “adorkability” to this role. Tuchon delivers an absolute masterclass performance in “The I Love You Song,” one of the most heart-wrenching moments in the show in which Olive imagines her absentee parents telling her they love her as she spells the word “chimerical”–meaning wildly fanciful, highly realistic. You’d be hard-pressed to find a dry eye in the house as we glimpse her tumultuous homelife.
Such is the beauty of this show. The premise may raise some skepticism, but by the end, audiences are fully invested in, of all things, a spelling bee and in the lives of these geeky adolescents. Each elimination of a speller elicits a gasp or an “aww” from the audience, as we’re made to feel the stakes and the pressure these young spellers are under–pressure to be perfect or to bear the emotional brunt of a dysfunctional family. Spelling Bee makes audiences laugh, cry, and remember how tough adolescence can be.
Of all the strange topics to make a musical about, a spelling bee may be the strangest. And yet, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee is a delight of a show. It is in equal parts riotously funny and unexpectedly heart-wrenching–and many audiences will be pleased with the short-and-sweet intermissionless 90-minute runtime. If the strangeness of the subject matter hasn’t put you off, you’re in for a treat.
After pulling out all the stops last season with their exclusive production of Frozen, West Warwick High School is keeping it lowkey with their production of Spelling Bee (then again, with a second musical just two months away, undoubtedly things have been anything but quiet in their theatre department). Compared with the ginormous cast of Frozen, Spelling Bee is a much smaller show with a cast of only nine. The technical elements are also much simpler–after all, the setting of a spelling bee would be a school auditorium, so not much is required to transport the audience to the world of the show.
While the tech and the premise are quite simple, the show is carried by its quirky cast of characters. A lot of the character work is supplied by the costumes, provided by Emerald City Theatricals. With one glance, audiences already have a good sense of the characters, from zany Leaf’s (Michael Humphry) colorful, dinosaur-adorned getup to precocious Logainne’s (Addison Noret) presidential campaign trail-ready suit.
Spelling Bee is by nature an ensemble show. Each character gets their chance to shine–and shine, many of them do. Some of the standout performances include Sebastian Rosa as Chip Tolentino, particularly in a perfectly executed “My Unfortunate Distraction” (fans of the musical will know this is a toned-down version of the song from what was on Broadway)–not to mention his brilliant physical comedy as his attraction to a fellow-speller’s sister ultimately leads to his elimination–and Sophia DaSilva as Marcy Park, a Wednesday Addams-esque perfectionist who learns to let go and fail for once, in “I Speak Six Languages.”
As the comedic backbone of the show, we have Lucas Martins as the unstable Vice Principal Panch. In addition to the wacky antics of the kids, the bulk of the humor comes from the crazy words and especially the example sentences (“In the schoolyard, Billy protested that he wasn't cockeyed. ‘I suffer from strabismus,’ he said, whereupon the bullies beat him harder.”). There is also some improv called for with the addition of guest spellers: ambitious audience members have the option of signing up to compete in the bee as well. The antics of the guest spellers on opening night led to some hilarious, non-scripted moments with Martins.
Rounding out the cast is Jake Gregson as William Barfee, the lugubrious and cocky runner-up from last year with a particularly unique spelling strategy: his “magic foot”; Tirrell Robinson as Mitch Mahoney, an ex-convict doing his community service by consoling eliminated spellers; and Sarah Tourville as Rona Lisa Peretti, the bee host reliving her glory days when she won the the 3rd annual bee.
While every cast member gets their moment, no one brings the house down quite like Abby Tuchon as the sweetly tragic Olive Ostrovsky. Audiences may remember her as Anna in Frozen last year, and she brings a similar “adorkability” to this role. Tuchon delivers an absolute masterclass performance in “The I Love You Song,” one of the most heart-wrenching moments in the show in which Olive imagines her absentee parents telling her they love her as she spells the word “chimerical”–meaning wildly fanciful, highly realistic. You’d be hard-pressed to find a dry eye in the house as we glimpse her tumultuous homelife.
Such is the beauty of this show. The premise may raise some skepticism, but by the end, audiences are fully invested in, of all things, a spelling bee and in the lives of these geeky adolescents. Each elimination of a speller elicits a gasp or an “aww” from the audience, as we’re made to feel the stakes and the pressure these young spellers are under–pressure to be perfect or to bear the emotional brunt of a dysfunctional family. Spelling Bee makes audiences laugh, cry, and remember how tough adolescence can be.
NOVEMBER 18, 2023 - The WWHS Players took a field trip to Rhode Island College to see their production of "Bat Boy." It is always amazing to see the work that RIC does and especially to see WWHS Players alumni ABIGAIL SACCONE '23 and GIANNA DASILVA '21 appearing in the production and OLIVIA LANCELLOTTA '20 working as Assistant Stage Manager. Bravo to all involved and thank you for hosting us at your student matinee!
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OCTOBER 13, 2023 - Congratulations to alumna MYRANDA ROSE SILVA '19 on her professional debut this weekend! Myranda is making her debut with the Franklin Performing Arts Company as an ensemble member of Disney's The Little Mermaid. She will be performing the ensemble and also covering 3 roles, Aquata, Atina, and Allana. Congrats, Myranda!
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SEPTEMBER 2023 - The West Warwick High School Players have updated their 2023-2024! For the first time ever, the WWHS Players will be performing TWO musicals in addition to their annual cabaret in the fall and Senior Showcase in the spring.
JUNE 23, 2023 - Congratulations to alumna OLIVIA LANCELLOTTA '20 on her professional debut this weekend! Olivia is making her debut with Reagle Music Theater of Greater Boston as an onstage ensemble swing in Oklahoma. She is swinging TEN tracks in this production! Oklahoma runs at Reagle through July 2, 2023. |
MAY 25, 2023 - Congratulations to our 11 newly inducted thespians! Check out our ITS Troupe 8837 page for more info about the society and its members.
MAY 25, 2023 - Congratulations to KORINA DANIELS '23 who received a scholarship from the Keri Anne O’Donnell Memorial Fund for her fantastic work as Olaf in the Rhode Island premiere of Disney's Frozen and her commitment to keeping the passion for performing alive! She is now a member of Keri’s Krew and we are honored to continue our partnership with the foundation. |
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MAY 5, 2023 - The first annual Ocean State Star Awards winners have been announced. All winners will be honored on June 4 at the Providence Performing Arts Center (PPAC). The evening is full of performances by winners and nominees, awards, and scholarships.
Our production of Frozen was awarded OUTSTANDING MUSICAL and will be performing a medley from the show at the gala on June 4! Honorable mention (featured performer) winners will be performing in the opening number. Honorable Mention Winner - DESMOND LEE '26 Honorable Mention Winner - LUCAS GALLAHER '23 |
Outstanding lead performer winners will be performing in character medlies and are eligible to advance to the National High School Musical Theater Awards (the Jimmy's) in New York City!
Outstanding Lead Performer - ABIGAIL SACCONE '23
Outstanding Lead Performer - SEBASTIAN ROSA '24
Outstanding Lead Performer - ABIGAIL TUCHON '24
Nominees who were not winners in their category but will be recognized for their incredible work in Frozen will be featured in a "Rising Stars" number at the gala. These students were hand picked by the OSSA director as stand outs in Rhode Island this season.
LILIANA BADESSA '24
KORINA DANIELS '23
NICOLAS MEIER '23
EMMA REYES '24 - Dance Captain for the Rising Stars number!
Non-performance awards will also be recognized and awarded at the ceremony on June 4:
Outstanding Costume Design - Johnny Cagno (Emerald City Theatricals)
Outstanding Direction - Richard Marchetti & Rikki Spelman
Outstanding Orchestra
Outstanding Musical Direction - Richard Marchetti
Outstanding Set Design - Ken Townsend
Outstanding Technical Achievement
Award in Technical Achievement - Adam Ramsey (Projections)
Outstanding Lead Performer - ABIGAIL SACCONE '23
Outstanding Lead Performer - SEBASTIAN ROSA '24
Outstanding Lead Performer - ABIGAIL TUCHON '24
Nominees who were not winners in their category but will be recognized for their incredible work in Frozen will be featured in a "Rising Stars" number at the gala. These students were hand picked by the OSSA director as stand outs in Rhode Island this season.
LILIANA BADESSA '24
KORINA DANIELS '23
NICOLAS MEIER '23
EMMA REYES '24 - Dance Captain for the Rising Stars number!
Non-performance awards will also be recognized and awarded at the ceremony on June 4:
Outstanding Costume Design - Johnny Cagno (Emerald City Theatricals)
Outstanding Direction - Richard Marchetti & Rikki Spelman
Outstanding Orchestra
Outstanding Musical Direction - Richard Marchetti
Outstanding Set Design - Ken Townsend
Outstanding Technical Achievement
Award in Technical Achievement - Adam Ramsey (Projections)
MARCH 27, 2023 - The West Warwick High School Players production of Frozen was honored to receive twenty-six Ocean State Star Awards nominations for their production of Frozen! These nominations recognize exceptional work on and offstage. Winners will be announced in May and formally recognized at Ocean State Star Awards, our regional awards program associated with The Jimmy Awards.
Outstanding Musical
Outstanding Ensemble
Outstanding Orchestra
Outstanding Technical Achievement
Outstanding Direction - Richard Marchetti & Rikki Spelman
Outstanding Musical Direction - Richard Marchetti
Outstanding Choreographer - Rikki Spelman
Outstanding Stage Manager - Jayla Monteiro '21
Outstanding Costume Designer - Johnny Cagno, Emerald City Theatricals
Honorable Mention in Design - Adam Ramsey (Visual Projections)
Outstanding Lead Performer - Students who display excellent acting, dancing, and singing abilities in a lead role
ABBY TUCHON '24 as Anna, ABIGAIL SACCONE '23 as Elsa, KORINA DANIELS '23 as Olaf, NICOLAS MEIER '23 as Kristoff, SEBASTIAN ROSA '24 as Hans
Outstanding Supporting Performer - Students who display excellent acting and singing abilities in a supporting role
KAYLA CARLSON '23 as Bulda, TIRRELL ROBINSON '26 as Pabbie
Outstanding Acting in a Musical - Students or ensembles who display excellent acting within a musical production
ABBY TUCHON '24 as Anna
Outstanding Dancer - Student displaying excellent dance technique and execution
EMMA REYES '24
Honorable Mention - Students with ensemble or small supporting roles who stood out in their production for their singing, design, dancing, and/or acting abilities
LUCAS GALLAHER '23 as Sven, EMMA REYES '24 (ensemble), MICHAEL HUMPHRY '25 as Oaken, DESMOND LEE '26 as Weselton, LILIANA BADESSA '24 (ensemble)
Outstanding Young Performer - Young students who display excellence in a high school musical production
AUBREY CORDEIRO '31 as Young Elsa, LEXI ANGLIN '31 as Young Anna
Outstanding Musical
Outstanding Ensemble
Outstanding Orchestra
Outstanding Technical Achievement
Outstanding Direction - Richard Marchetti & Rikki Spelman
Outstanding Musical Direction - Richard Marchetti
Outstanding Choreographer - Rikki Spelman
Outstanding Stage Manager - Jayla Monteiro '21
Outstanding Costume Designer - Johnny Cagno, Emerald City Theatricals
Honorable Mention in Design - Adam Ramsey (Visual Projections)
Outstanding Lead Performer - Students who display excellent acting, dancing, and singing abilities in a lead role
ABBY TUCHON '24 as Anna, ABIGAIL SACCONE '23 as Elsa, KORINA DANIELS '23 as Olaf, NICOLAS MEIER '23 as Kristoff, SEBASTIAN ROSA '24 as Hans
Outstanding Supporting Performer - Students who display excellent acting and singing abilities in a supporting role
KAYLA CARLSON '23 as Bulda, TIRRELL ROBINSON '26 as Pabbie
Outstanding Acting in a Musical - Students or ensembles who display excellent acting within a musical production
ABBY TUCHON '24 as Anna
Outstanding Dancer - Student displaying excellent dance technique and execution
EMMA REYES '24
Honorable Mention - Students with ensemble or small supporting roles who stood out in their production for their singing, design, dancing, and/or acting abilities
LUCAS GALLAHER '23 as Sven, EMMA REYES '24 (ensemble), MICHAEL HUMPHRY '25 as Oaken, DESMOND LEE '26 as Weselton, LILIANA BADESSA '24 (ensemble)
Outstanding Young Performer - Young students who display excellence in a high school musical production
AUBREY CORDEIRO '31 as Young Elsa, LEXI ANGLIN '31 as Young Anna
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MARCH 16, 2023 - The West Warwick High School players were featured on The Rhode Show this morning! Click the YouTube video on the left to see their story on our production "FROZEN" ON HIGH SCHOOL STAGE. There is also a written story here! |
MARCH 2023 - Professional review of FROZEN written by Nicole Labresh
When I arrived for opening night of the West Warwick High School Players’ latest production, the parking lot was almost at capacity. Now, that may be a natural consequence of having a whopping cast of 50. It may also be the unique circumstances around this particular production that is packing the auditorium. While productions of Frozen Jr. are all the rage among schools, West Warwick High got to skip the “junior” part after winning a nationwide contest for the exclusive rights to put on the full, unshortened edition of Frozen, rights that will not be made widely available for another few years, making this a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for all involved. The contest involved submitting a vision for the production pertaining to the theme “Love is an Open Door,” in other words, inclusivity and community. With the sheer number of students involved with the production, several of whom had never been in a show before, it seems that vision was upheld.
Audiences will be familiar with the 2013 smash hit Disney film about two sisters, magical ice powers and a sentient snowman (especially if all of the little girls wearing Elsa dresses in the audience are anything to go off of). The stage version expands on the film by adding some new songs to the familiar ones, like “What Do You Know About Love,” a fun, upbeat duet expanding on the meeting of Anna and Kristoff as he first criticizes her decision to marry a man she just met and then learns to respect her bravery, “Dangerous to Dream” in which Elsa makes it through coronation and considers a future in which she and Anna can be close once again, and “Hygge,” the comedic second act opener that provides a bit of education on Danish culture, connecting the story back to its Nordic origins.
A stage filled with a huge cast can be a spectacle in itself, especially when adorned with some fabulous costuming provided by Emerald City Theatrical Costumes; the ensemble sounds solid together, especially in the pretty choral number “Queen Anointed,” but with their manpower, their vocals could pack more of a punch and really blow the roof off of the place in numbers like the opening and the finale. This production is also lucky enough to have live orchestral accompaniment–something of a rarity in amateur theatre. The big concern that comes with the benefit of a live orchestra is the sound balance: it can be easy for the instrumentalists to overpower the vocalists. In this case, however, sound engineer Jill Fisher kept everything in check.
Disney has never been known to do anything by halves, and when it comes to creating ice magic on stage, no one is better prepared to supply the pixie dust. Naturally, on a high school budget, the magic isn’t quite what you would see on Broadway (or on the incoming national tour hitting PPAC next season), but there are still some impressive tech feats, including a few snow effects and Elsa’s glove flying away in the wind. Most of the magic is provided digitally through projections. Broadway-level or not, these effects still wow the audience.
In bringing Frozen to the stage, Disney borrowed from their most popular stage show to date, The Lion King, in bringing its anthropomorphic characters to life through puppetry. The Sven puppet (brought to life by Robert Williams and senior Lucas Gallaher with help from Minio Pinque of Big Nazo, and operated in the show by Gallaher) is particularly reminiscent of the giraffe puppet, with just a touch of the endearing charm that launched the latest Broadway production of Into the Woods’ Milky White into bovine stardom. The Olaf puppet (crafted by Zachariah Clarke) looks appropriately soft and cuddly. The huggable snowman is played and puppeteered by senior Korina Daniels, who brings across Olaf’s lovable charm without directly mimicking the film version.
Rounding out the main cast, we have junior Sebastian Rosa as the deceptive Prince Hans of the Southern Isles. Rosa has a great voice, and his duet with Anna, “Love is an Open Door,” is the epitome of “adorkable,” especially their quirky dance break, though the sinister plot twist is played a bit more casually than one might expect from a Disney villain. Our actual good guy is senior Nicolas Meier as the somewhat socially inept mountain man Kristoff. Meier excels in background acting, particularly in reacting to the antics of Olaf and his found troll family. Speaking of the trolls, one of the standouts in the cast is senior Kayla Carlson as Bulda. Both her stage presence and vocals are out of this world, and she is a delight to watch in both the opening and “Fixer Upper,” which in terms of choreography (Rikki Spelman) and energy is a highpoint of the show.
But the night truly belongs to the Abigails: senior Abigail Saccone as Elsa and junior Abigail Tuchon as Anna. Both have stellar, strong voices and are well up to the challenges of vocal behemoths “Let It Go,” “Monster,” and their lovely, heartfelt duet “I Can’t Lose You” (the first of these, of course, being the crowd favorite; there was audible excitement at the familiar tinkling of the piano intro and awe at the stage magic of Elsa’s blink-of-an-eye costume change). The chemistry between the sisters is fantastic, and that goes for their younger counterparts, 4th graders Aubrey Cordeiro and Alexandra Anglin, as well, as best befits the real love story at the center of the show. Saccone beautifully brings out Elsa’s inner conflict and her anguish any time she hurts her sister, while Tuchon supplies Anna’s awkward charm and plucky determination.
The excitement around this production and its truly unique circumstances is palpable, and not just among the cast, but it extends to the audience, too–and with Frozen’s astronomical popularity, it’s no wonder the audience is hanging on every moment, wildly enthusiastic from start to end. For everyone involved–audience, cast and crew alike, and particularly the seniors– this show is truly an unforgettable experience.
When I arrived for opening night of the West Warwick High School Players’ latest production, the parking lot was almost at capacity. Now, that may be a natural consequence of having a whopping cast of 50. It may also be the unique circumstances around this particular production that is packing the auditorium. While productions of Frozen Jr. are all the rage among schools, West Warwick High got to skip the “junior” part after winning a nationwide contest for the exclusive rights to put on the full, unshortened edition of Frozen, rights that will not be made widely available for another few years, making this a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for all involved. The contest involved submitting a vision for the production pertaining to the theme “Love is an Open Door,” in other words, inclusivity and community. With the sheer number of students involved with the production, several of whom had never been in a show before, it seems that vision was upheld.
Audiences will be familiar with the 2013 smash hit Disney film about two sisters, magical ice powers and a sentient snowman (especially if all of the little girls wearing Elsa dresses in the audience are anything to go off of). The stage version expands on the film by adding some new songs to the familiar ones, like “What Do You Know About Love,” a fun, upbeat duet expanding on the meeting of Anna and Kristoff as he first criticizes her decision to marry a man she just met and then learns to respect her bravery, “Dangerous to Dream” in which Elsa makes it through coronation and considers a future in which she and Anna can be close once again, and “Hygge,” the comedic second act opener that provides a bit of education on Danish culture, connecting the story back to its Nordic origins.
A stage filled with a huge cast can be a spectacle in itself, especially when adorned with some fabulous costuming provided by Emerald City Theatrical Costumes; the ensemble sounds solid together, especially in the pretty choral number “Queen Anointed,” but with their manpower, their vocals could pack more of a punch and really blow the roof off of the place in numbers like the opening and the finale. This production is also lucky enough to have live orchestral accompaniment–something of a rarity in amateur theatre. The big concern that comes with the benefit of a live orchestra is the sound balance: it can be easy for the instrumentalists to overpower the vocalists. In this case, however, sound engineer Jill Fisher kept everything in check.
Disney has never been known to do anything by halves, and when it comes to creating ice magic on stage, no one is better prepared to supply the pixie dust. Naturally, on a high school budget, the magic isn’t quite what you would see on Broadway (or on the incoming national tour hitting PPAC next season), but there are still some impressive tech feats, including a few snow effects and Elsa’s glove flying away in the wind. Most of the magic is provided digitally through projections. Broadway-level or not, these effects still wow the audience.
In bringing Frozen to the stage, Disney borrowed from their most popular stage show to date, The Lion King, in bringing its anthropomorphic characters to life through puppetry. The Sven puppet (brought to life by Robert Williams and senior Lucas Gallaher with help from Minio Pinque of Big Nazo, and operated in the show by Gallaher) is particularly reminiscent of the giraffe puppet, with just a touch of the endearing charm that launched the latest Broadway production of Into the Woods’ Milky White into bovine stardom. The Olaf puppet (crafted by Zachariah Clarke) looks appropriately soft and cuddly. The huggable snowman is played and puppeteered by senior Korina Daniels, who brings across Olaf’s lovable charm without directly mimicking the film version.
Rounding out the main cast, we have junior Sebastian Rosa as the deceptive Prince Hans of the Southern Isles. Rosa has a great voice, and his duet with Anna, “Love is an Open Door,” is the epitome of “adorkable,” especially their quirky dance break, though the sinister plot twist is played a bit more casually than one might expect from a Disney villain. Our actual good guy is senior Nicolas Meier as the somewhat socially inept mountain man Kristoff. Meier excels in background acting, particularly in reacting to the antics of Olaf and his found troll family. Speaking of the trolls, one of the standouts in the cast is senior Kayla Carlson as Bulda. Both her stage presence and vocals are out of this world, and she is a delight to watch in both the opening and “Fixer Upper,” which in terms of choreography (Rikki Spelman) and energy is a highpoint of the show.
But the night truly belongs to the Abigails: senior Abigail Saccone as Elsa and junior Abigail Tuchon as Anna. Both have stellar, strong voices and are well up to the challenges of vocal behemoths “Let It Go,” “Monster,” and their lovely, heartfelt duet “I Can’t Lose You” (the first of these, of course, being the crowd favorite; there was audible excitement at the familiar tinkling of the piano intro and awe at the stage magic of Elsa’s blink-of-an-eye costume change). The chemistry between the sisters is fantastic, and that goes for their younger counterparts, 4th graders Aubrey Cordeiro and Alexandra Anglin, as well, as best befits the real love story at the center of the show. Saccone beautifully brings out Elsa’s inner conflict and her anguish any time she hurts her sister, while Tuchon supplies Anna’s awkward charm and plucky determination.
The excitement around this production and its truly unique circumstances is palpable, and not just among the cast, but it extends to the audience, too–and with Frozen’s astronomical popularity, it’s no wonder the audience is hanging on every moment, wildly enthusiastic from start to end. For everyone involved–audience, cast and crew alike, and particularly the seniors– this show is truly an unforgettable experience.
MARCH 10, 2022 - The Rhode Island premiere of Frozen the musical is tonight! The WWHS Media & Journalism Pathway gives you a sneak peak with their Frozen The Musical: Behind the Scenes video and an appearance by the directors on the Words With Wizards podcast.
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SEPTEMBER 29, 2022 - The WWHS Players were featured in this article in the Kent County Times about being chosen as the Rhode Island representative for The United States of Frozen.
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SEPTEMBER 9, 2022 - We are so excited to be able to share the news that the WWHS Players were selected as the Rhode Island winner for The United States of Frozen competition!
This means we will be one of the only 50 schools across the country able to produce Frozen! We are so honored to be the Rhode Island premiere of this fantastic musical and to partner with Disney, Music Theatre International, and Educational Theatre Association to pilot Frozen in high schools. Thank you to our students, admin, and everyone at WWHS for creating a culture of love, inclusion, and support. We truly live out “Love Is An Open Door” at WWHS and can’t wait to share that message onstage with our community and beyond! |
JUNE 5, 2022 - Congratulations to seniors Markus D’Ambra and Sarah Petrangelo who received scholarships from the Keri Anne O’Donnell Memorial Fund for their commitment to keeping the passion for performing alive! They are now members of Keri’s Krew and we couldn’t be prouder! |
JUNE 2022 - Our production of The SpongeBob Musical was nominated for a Sondheim Award for Best Musical Production of the Year! Cast and crew travelled to New Haven, CT where we performed "Bikini Bottom Day." There were almost 30 schools who participated in the Sondheim Awards this year from Rhode Island and Connecticut. In a very competitive year, West Warwick High School was the only Rhode Island school nominated for any awards. We were so honored to be nominated and to get to perform together one more time! CLICK HERE to see our performance at the Sondheim Awards. |
APRIL 2022- Congratulations to our seven new ITS members!
APRIL 2021 - Congratulations to our seven new ITS members!
MAY 2020 - Senior Olivia Lancellotta will be recognized at the 2020 Virtual Sondheim Awards for her role as Velma Kelly in the WWHS January production of Chicago. This regional program that recognizes excellence in high school musical theater in Rhode Island and Connecticut and is affiliated with the national Jimmy Awards. |
APRIL 2020 - Congratulations to our twelve new ITS members! They will be inducted in a formal ceremony this fall.
NOVEMBER 2019 - Congratulations for two WWHS Players members for their 2019 Broadway World Regional Awards Nominations!
Vote here: https://www.broadwayworld.com/rhode-island/voteregion.cfm for Markus and Marc!
JUNE 2019 - With great excitement, we announce that Myranda Silva won best leading actress for her portrayal of Judy Bernly from our January production of 9 to 5 The Musical at the 2019 Stephen Sondheim Awards. Myranda will now enter the national high school theatre awards, The Jimmy Awards competition - https://www.jimmyawards.com/ on June 24th. We are so proud and excited for Myranda!
MAY 2019 - The WWHS Players received one Sondheim Award nomination for their January production of 9 to 5 The Musical! This regional program that recognizes excellence in high school musical theater in Rhode Island and Connecticut and is affiliated with the national Jimmy Awards.
Best Leading Actress - Myranda Silva as Judy Bernly
APRIL 2019 - West Warwick High School applied for and was granted a charter of the International Thespian Society, the student international honor division of the Educational Theater Association. On April 27, the first induction ceremony was held and 31 members were inducted! Please check out our troupe page for more information about Troupe 8837!
JUNE 2018 - The WWHS Players had a very successful evening at the first annual Sondheim Awards! The cast of Shrek performed "I'm A Believer" to great ovation from the crowd! Madison LaPlante received the award for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of Dragon. Congratulations to Maddie and the entire cast and crew of Shrek for such a successful season! |
MAY 2018 - The WWHS Players received three Sondheim Award nominations for their January production of Shrek! This is a newly created regional program that recognizes excellence in high school musical theater in Rhode Island and Connecticut and is affiliated with the national Jimmy Awards. As a best musical nominee, the students will perform a number from the show at the awards gala in June!
Best Supporting Actress - Madison LaPlante as Dragon
Best Director - Richard Marchetti & Rikki Spelman
Best Musical!
Best Director - Richard Marchetti & Rikki Spelman
Best Musical!
MAY 2017 - West Warwick High School Players received SEVEN Connecticut High School Musical Theater nominations for their January 2017 production of Catch Me If You Can including OVERALL BEST PRODUCTION! Congratulations to everyone who made this performance such a success!
Outstanding Leading Actor - Nicolas Godfray as Frank Abagnale Jr.
Outstanding Supporting Actor - Shawn Whelpley as Frank Abagnale Sr.
Outstanding Featured Performer - Jocelyn Gauthier as Carol Strong
Outstanding Ensemble Member - Cyrus Richard as Agent Dollar
Outstanding Lobby Display
Outstanding Direction
Outstanding Production of the Year!
Outstanding Supporting Actor - Shawn Whelpley as Frank Abagnale Sr.
Outstanding Featured Performer - Jocelyn Gauthier as Carol Strong
Outstanding Ensemble Member - Cyrus Richard as Agent Dollar
Outstanding Lobby Display
Outstanding Direction
Outstanding Production of the Year!
APRIL 2017 - WWHS Players alum, TAYLOR SANTORO '14, stars as The Cat in the Hat in Rhode Island College's production of Seussical the Musical. The Theater Mirror: New England's Theater Guide raves about Taylor's performance!
Leading this talented cast is Taylor Santoro as The Cat in the Hat. He commands the stage with his dynamic portrayal as this mischievous character. His many different accents are hilarious and his interactions with other cast members is astounding. His voice is powerful whether he is singing directly to the audience or the other characters."
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Congratulations, Taylor! We are so proud of you!
JANUARY 2017: Check out this feature in the Kent County Times!
NOVEMBER 2016: This just in! After receiving our score sheets from the Connecticut High School Music Awards, we were excited and pleased to find out that in addition to the 2 final nominations listed below, we received FOURTEEN first round nominations for our production of The Addams Family!
STUDENT PERFORMANCE
CREATIVE DIRECTION
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MUSIC
PRODUCTION
Congratulations to everyone who worked to make this production such a success!
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MAY 2016 - WWHS Players earn two Connecticut High School Musical Theater Award nominations for their 2016 production of THE ADDAMS FAMILY. Congratulations to our two graduating seniors on being recognized for their excellent character work!
OUTSTANDING ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Kyleigh Richard as Grandma Addams |
OUTSTANDING ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Adam Manocchio as Lurch |
JANUARY 2016 - Rave Reviews for the WWHS Players' production of The Addams Family!
Providence Journal Photo Spread
Providence Journal Video
Kent County Times Article
Providence Journal Photo Spread
Providence Journal Video
Kent County Times Article
MAY 2015 - WWHS Players earn two Connecticut High School Musical Theater Award nominations for their 2015 production of BIG FISH. This was West Warwick High Schools' first time participating in the CHSMTA. They are the first Rhode Island school to participate in this regional competition.