By MAUREEN DOHERTY
NORTH READING — To paraphrase the favorite saying of Athletic Director Dave Johnson: “It’s a good weekend to be a Hornet!”
Why? Because the shining stars in multiple disciplines are sharing the spotlight: sports, the dramatic arts and music.
North Reading High School’s drama students are preparing to launch their four-show run of “Pippin, A Musical Comedy” over the next two weekends and the NRHS football team will be competing in the Division 5 Super Bowl for the second consecutive year on Friday night, Dec. 2 at 5:30 p.m. at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro.
In a show of good sportsmanship, when the date assigned by the MIAA for the football team’s Super Bowl game against Shawsheen Tech conflicted with the previously announced opening night of Pippin, for which tickets had already been sold, the Masquers graciously changed their schedule to move their Friday, Dec. 2 show to Sunday, Dec. 4 at 4 p.m. This means that their show on Saturday night, Dec. 3 at 7:30 p.m. now becomes their opening night.
Making this change also means all of Hornet nation will share in the success of both programs. The football team will likely have more North Reading fans cheering them on at Gillette and those fans who previously purchased tickets for the canceled Friday night Pippin show will have them honored on Sunday, Dec. 4 or will be offered a full refund from the Masquers as well as the opportunity to purchase tickets for a different performance date.
Additionally, both the award-winning Marching Hornets and the award-winning Hornet cheerleaders will also have the opportunity to perform at Gillette Stadium during the Super Bowl.
Next weekend, Pippin performances will be held on Friday, Dec. 9 at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, Dec. 10 at 4 p.m.
Masquers Director Allison Kane offered the following message to the club’s supporters on their website: “The NRPS is so proud of all the strong after school programs it has and this year is no different. Our football team has made it to the Super Bowl at Gillette Stadium and the game has been scheduled at the same time as our opening night. In support of our community, we are moving our Friday, December 2 show to Sunday, December 4 at 4 p.m.”
For those who previously purchased tickets for Friday night, Dec. 2 who are available to attend the show on Sunday, Dec. 4, there is nothing they need to do. Their assigned seats will be honored (all tickets are sold to assigned seats; there is no general admission). Such ticket holders should have received an email from ticketstage.com and/or nrperformingarts@gmail.com confirming this change.
“If you are unable to attend Sunday’s show, we will refund your tickets. You will need to contact the box office (nrperformingarts@gmail.com) for the refund,” Kane said.
“If you are unable to attend Sunday’s show and instead want to attend a different show, we will refund your tickets and then you can repurchase. It is much easier for you to change your personal order than it is on our end to take the necessary steps to rebook an order,” explained Kane.
“We appreciate your understanding and support of our volunteer ticket team about the possible second step if you need to move to another day,” Kane said, adding, “We love supporting all our students. We hope you can come and support us in our show.”
To help streamline the refund process Kane is requesting that theatergoers do not personally email herself or Janie Giunta. They should only email nrperformingarts@gmail.com or visit their website [http://masquers.weebly.com/pippin-a-musical-comedy.html] to purchase tickets and for more show information.
THE CAST
Masquers members in Pippin are: Leading Player: Dylan Mills; Fastrada: Lucy Wagner; Charles: Colin Chin; Bertha: Molly Giunta; Pippin: Mason Murray; Lewis: Brian Conlon; Catherine: Alivia Rowe; Theo: Kellen Tiberii.
Additionally the players cast in the show are: Michael Manupelli, Allie Duff, Fahd Benhafoune, James Dillion, Jake Garniss, Caitlin Milligan, Sophie Donovan, Matthew Palmer, Vinny Costantino, Eulalia Agganis, Juliana Tempesta, Abby Lilley, Lucy Fisher, Heather Wilde, Annie Kuperstein, Mahir Mugdho, Mikayla Hurley, Anthony Spina, Caroline Salvatierra, Lindsey Hanson, Emily Burton, Cecilia Thomson, Sophia Melo, Nolan Barrette, Peter Foley, Maeve Easler, Zoe Stevenson, Matt McManus, Chris Vitale, Brady Mills, Matt Mulcahy, Marshall Murray and Anabelle Mahoney.
Three students are also members of the orchestra for this production: Nate Burt, Jack Foley and Angelina Palazzolo.
According to Kane, the protagonist, Pippin, and his father, King Charlemagne, are characters derived from two real-life individuals of the early Middle Ages, though the plot is fictional and presents no historical accuracy regarding either. The musical uses the premise of a mysterious performance troupe, led by the Leading Player, to tell the story of Pippin, a young prince on his search for meaning and significance. The “fourth wall” is broken numerous times during most traditional productions.
The story revolves around the search for happiness and a young man’s plight to figure out who he is and his place in the world around him.
According to the Masquers website: “This show is PG13 with some adult themes all told under the guise of a traveling troupe of circus acts. Those themes typically go over the head of younger audience members, however you should familiarize yourself with the production before attending just in case. There is mature language. The original production in 1972 said it’s best for audience members 8 and above.”
Run time is 2 1/2 hours with one intermission. Raffles and refreshments will be available on Main Street at all four shows, with raffle winners drawn the Sunday after the last show (Dec. 11). Masquers officers will contact the winners within 24 hours to arrange pick up by Friday, Dec. 16.
