Members of the Norwalk High School choir polished a production of Anastasia on Friday, April 26 and Saturday, April 27 at the Norwalk Performing Arts Center. What the audience didn’t see was the hundreds of hours put into the show to bring it to life.
Nathanael Smale has been directing at Norwalk High School for 5 years now and enjoys being a teacher for multiple choir activities such as choir, show choir, and the musical.
Smale said he has also helped out with other Norwalk musicals such as Seussical, Once Upon A Mattress, and Mean Girls.
“I always loved directing musicals,” Smale said. “My favorite part of the musical is when everything gets put together. Seeing it all together for the first time, and seeing how hard these kids work is very special.”
Jacie Ommen was the main director of the musical this year. Ommen said this was her first year as not only the lead director of the musical, but also at Norwalk High School in general.
“I am proud of the work these kids put in,” she said. “It is a very long and difficult process to practice and prepare for a musical and the students handled it very well.”
Vincent Martin, senior at Norwalk, said this was his first lead role in a musical. Martin said he played the character Vladimir “Vlad” Popov.
“I love working with my friends the most,” Martin said. “It was a great way to bond with multiple people and make more connections through music.”
Another senior at Norwalk, Noah Fox, said this was his fourth musical that he has been a part of. Fox also played a lead role as the character Dimitri Sudayev.
“I love performing in front of a big audience,” he said. “I love being able to act and getting to be in a different person’s shoes when I’m on stage.”
