St. Damian Eighth-Graders Say 'Hello' to 'Dolly'

When it came time to audition for the role of "Dolly Gallagher," St. Damian eighth-grader Amanda Petit told producer Angela Mehalek that she'd been waiting for this day since she came to kindergarten.

And it's a good thing she can sing, Mehalek said. Petit, along with Luke Howard in the role of "Horace Vandergelder," led a 62-student ensemble in the school's spring production of Hello, Dolly.

"It's a classic," Mehalek said, of why she chose the play. After she nailed down the show choice, it was time to brainstorm students to play the roles.

"I had some ideas of who would make a good Dolly," she said. "I had no idea who was going to step up for Horace."

Enter: Luke Howard. He just seemed to "get" it, Mehalek said.

"He just blew me away."

Choreographer Lynn Kingsbury said that during the three months the students worked on the play for the April 8–10 shows, each student improved.

"They're picking up the dances really well," she said. "It's a fun show to choreograph."

The show was the school's 11th, with others including the likes of Bye, Bye Birdie, 42nd Street and more.

"It's quite a show," Kingsbury said, before the Friday show."The kids are doing a great job."

The students received a standing ovation from their classmates after Friday afternoon's show.

Cast

Production Staff

Sharon McKeown

Andrea Kaminski

Lorri Nagle

Laura Ruzevich