'Spelling Bee' Shines on Opening Night

The Ramapo Spring Musical went to rounds of applause and roars of laughter on its opening night on Thursday in the Harry K. Berkheuser Performing Arts Center of Ramapo High School.

“Tonight went way better than we could have ever expected,” said Alexa Racioppi. “It was amazing. We are completely energized right now with so much happiness.”

The Gold Masque drama program presented “The 25^th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” on Thursday evening. The show is a musical comedy that is known for the way it engages the audience and even involves them.

“At first I was a little conscientious about this kind of show. I had never heard of it before,” said Evan Tsahalis. “I learned to love it and after today I am very happy with it. To have an entire audience laughing was an amazing feeling. It was a great feeling knowing that they were enjoying it out there just as much as we were on stage.”   

All members of the cast, crew and audience seemed very happy with how the show went. For the seniors involved, this will be the final performance they give as students in the Ramapo-Indian Hills District.

“It’s definitely bittersweet,” said Ian Cooley. “I’ve done all the shows since I was a freshman and this is my last show so it’s a tough moment for me. I do love this show and it was very challenging and interesting doing it in front of an audience for the first time.”

The musical was directed by Jo Ann Ventor who has been working on the show since auditions were held in late January.

"Mrs. Ventor, our director, was absolutely amazing. She has done things that no other director at Ramapo has ever done and it was an absolute joy to work with her," said Cooley.

"She has been the very best director we've ever had," added Racioppi.

The show will be presented on Friday and Saturday evenings at 7 p.m. in the Harry K. Berkheuser Performing Arts Center of Ramapo High School.

Feel free to leave a comment if you saw the show or plan to see it. A lot of hard work went into it.