If you have ever seen a musical at St.Rose, you know that all of the students are well prepared and obviously have rehearsed day and night to achieve such amazing performances.

This year, the Spring Musical is Me and My Girl. Me and My Girl is a musical that premiered
in 1937 and was turned into a movie two years later. On Thursday April 6th, the cast of “Me and My Girl will have their first performance for the St. Rose Grammar School and be open the next day to everyone. Without the help of choreographer Michael Penna and vocal coach Brian Krajcik, these successful performances would not be possible.
The choreographer of the musical, Michael Penna, is a veteran choreographer at St.Rose.
This is his third time choreographing for the school’s Spring Musical. In addition to creating
fantastic choreography for St.Rose, he is currently a teacher at Monmouth Regional. Jack
Longstreet complimented, “Everyone loves him. Michael really knows what he is doing but
always manages to make rehearsals fun. The cast is so lucky to have him.” If you have seen a
St Rose Musical, you know that this praise is not false. Michael is a great teacher and consistently puts together amazing dances for all of the musicals he has been involved in. Everyone is thrilled to see what Michael has in store for Me and My Girl.

Brian Krajcik is the new vocal coach for Me and My Girl. Brian has always been involved in theater. He has received a Master of Music Degree in Conducting from Westminster Choir College, as well as a Double Bachelors in Music Education and Piano Performance from the University of Delaware. With Brian’s impressive musical background, our expectations are set high. Everyone is looking forward to hearing and seeing Me and My Girl and to see how our talented students perform for Brian’s debut musical.

Be sure to go to the school musical in The Jersey Shore Arts Center in Ocean Grove.
Tickets can be purchased online from ten to twenty dollar or at the door (see the St.Rose website for more information). “Me and My Girl” is going to be out of this world!

By Alex Preckajlo ’17, Staff Writer

It’s that time of year again! The St. Rose High School Spring Musical is set to hit the stage next week, and I was able to speak one on one with the people who have worked tirelessly behind the scenes to bring us, what no doubt will be, another major success. In my interview with the Director (Mrs. Kain), Head of Hair and Makeup (Mrs. Carton), Head of Wardrobe (Mrs. Fallon), Technical Director (Mrs. Bedford), and Student Director (Titus Hood), I found out exactly what goes on behind the scenes of such memorable performances that are put on every year by fellow students.

The Courier: What is the set for this year’s play?
Mrs. Kain: The story takes place in the 1930s, and the set is a 1930s British country mansion
and garden, kind of similar to Downtown Abbey.

TC: How is the set coming along?
MK: It’s coming together really nicely and should be done sometime this week.

TC: What type of music should the audience expect?
MK: It’s musical theater, so show music is the best way to put it. It isn’t contemporary, so it will be like Broadway.

TC: What is the reference look for hair and makeup?
Mrs. Carton: A 1930s look. We are pulling from a couple of different plays and films based in
that time and creating something similar to that.

TC: What kind of costume designs and props should we be expecting?
Mrs. Fallon: For the most part, we’re looking at 1930s England, and the main characters are
members of an aristocratic family, so they are all fancy and well-dressed. The ensemble play a number of different roles: a group of maids and a group of Cockney townspeople. The male
lead, Matt Giunco, is a poor, but slick character who comes to this wealthy family and discovers he is part of the family. The audience will discover that his dress clearly doesn’t fit in with his high-brow relatives.

TC: How does the sound system and light production work?
Mrs. Bedford: We have a company that comes to set up professional lighting and then all the
lighting is run by the stage crew. The sound system is set up and run the same way.

TC: What’s it like behind the scenes?Titus Hood: It’s pretty chaotic, but it’s really rewarding seeing it all come together.
So, with some new insight as to what goes on in preparation for the big production, all that is left to do is buy tickets to see it all in action! The Spring musical has performances on April 6, 7, and 8, and with all the hard work put into the play, it deserves to be seen by as many people as possible! Students can buy tickets in advance for $10, and at the door for $15. For adults, tickets are $20 and Senior Citizens, $15. Lights, Camera, Action, and enjoy the show!

By Julia Swanson ’27, Editor-in-Chief