Rehearsal Schedule for the Week of March 26th

Our production is coming along great - less than 2 weeks to go, and lots of work to still do, but we are so proud of all the students and their ongoing dedication to rehearsals!

Thank you to all the parents who have so graciously helped with sewing, ironing, volunteering to help with tickets and signing up to bring in snacks for backstage and the cast party!

Tickets will be offered for presale this week only, Monday thru Friday from 2:35 to 3:30 in the lobby of the school.  All seats are $5.  After this week, the remaining tickets will be sold, first come, first served at the door 30 minutes before each performance.

Parents, please check with your student to see what costume items they were asked (or volunteered) to provide for their character (ie, pants and shoes).  All costume pieces should be brought in by Wednesday the 29th.  They will be labeled and stored for the week leading up to the show. 

All Ads and Boosters need to be turned in no later than Wednesday the 29th to insure that they are printed in the program.

Rehearsal Schedule for the Week of March 26th:

Monday, March 27th
3:15 - 3:40   Rock Island Song - all train people and conductor
3:40 - 4:00   Quartet and Pick-a-littles + Eulalie
4:00 - 4:20   Amaryllis, Mrs. Paroo, Marian, Winthrop, Harold
4:20 - 5:00   Marian and Harold
6:30 - 9:00   Props, Costumes and Sound

Tuesday, March 28th
3:15 - 5:30   All Speaking Parts
7:00 - 9:00   All Stage Crew

Wednesday, March 29th
3:15 - 5:30   Full Cast and Crew - bring a peanut free snack to have at 3:15
6:30 - 9:00   Props, Costumes and Sound

Thursday, March 30th
6:30 - 9:00   Full Cast and Crew

Saturday, April 1st
9:00 am - 1:00pm  Full Cast and Crew - Bring a peanut free snack and drink to have during our break

Rehearsal Schedule for the Week of March 19th

We are a little more than 2 weeks away from our opening night!  Rehearsals are going well and we thank you all for making to every rehearsal and for your continued effort to do so in the coming weeks.

Thank you to the parents who were able to make it to our Parent Meeting last week.  The items we discusses will be added to the end of this post for those who were unable to attend.  There are notes regarding items that the students will need to provide for their costumes as well as areas where we could use assistance.  If you have any questions or if you are interested in assisting with any of the areas listed, please send an e-mail to Mrs. Penny @ mpenny@newtonnj.org.  Thank you so much!

Mrs. Molkenthin has graciously volunteered to oversee the committee in charge of soliciting donations of snacks and drinks for the kids to have on Dress Rehearsal and Performance Nights as well as for their cast party.  The kids will be coming to the school anywhere from 4pm to 5pm each weeknight and 11-12 on Saturday) so we provide snacks for them to hold them over until after the performance.  She will be sending out a request for donations via Sign Up Genius. Thank you in advance for your help!

We are selling ads and boosters for our program booklet.  Forms were handed out at the Parent Meeting but will also be sent home with students this week.  Ads and boosters should be returned not later than the 28th to ensure that we have enough time to add them to the program.  There is an ad incentive program where families can earn free tickets to the show for each ad that they sell.  Details will be on the paperwork.

Advanced ticket sales will take place next week after school in the lobby.  All seats are $5 and location of seats is reserved, so you get to choose where your seats will be.

Rehearsals for the Week of March 19th:

Monday, March 20th
3:15 - 3:45   All students in the Train Scene
3:15 - 3:30   All Girls playing young girls in the show (for measurements)
3:45 - 4:10   Quartet and Harold
4:10 - 4:30   Marian and Harold
4:30 - 5:00   Harold
7:30 - 8:15   Ensemble Girls playing Ladies for costumes
8:15 - 9:00   Boys playing Adults for costumes

Tuesday, March 21st
7:00 - 9:00   Full Cast and Crew Rehearsal

Wednesday, March 22nd
3:15 - 3:45   All students in the Train Scene
3:15 -  3:30  All Wah Tan Ye Girls for costume fitting
3:45 - 4:15   Pick-a-little Ladies and Eulalie
4:15 - 5:00   Marian, Mrs. Paroo, Amaryllis and Winthrop
5:00 - 5:30   Harold
7:30 - 9:00   Boys Band and Harold (Rehearsal plus costumes)

Thursday, March 23rd
3:15 - 5:30   Full Cast and Crew (bring a nut-free snack to have at 3:15)

Friday, March 24th
3:15 - 5:00   Pick-a-Littles, Eulalie, Quartet, Tommy, Zaneeta, Harold, Marian, Mrs. Paroo, Charlie, Marcellus for "Shipoopi"

Saturday, March 25th
9:00am - 1:00 pm   Mandatory Rehearsal - Full Cast and Crew (bring a nut free snack and drink to have during our break)

Parent Meeting Information:

Advanced Ticket Sales will take place after school the week of March 27^th.  Details will be on the blog site.  After Advance Ticket days are finished, tickets will be available at the door, ½ hour before each performance.

Costume items to be provided by the student: 

All Male Characters:  dressy pants/khakis – no jeans or athletic wear.  Quartet and Boys Band should have BLACK.  Other characters can choose another color of their choice.

All Cast members  playing children need black shoes:

Girls playing little girls will need black flats.  

Boys in the Boys Band will need dressy black shoes (NO Sneakers.)

For girls playing a “pants part” the black shoes should look like dressy boys’ shoes, either lace up or slip on, but should not be girls’ flats.

All Cast members playing adults will need the following shoes:

Pick-a-little Ladies will be fitted for tan character shoes.

Girls playing adults can have black flats or a shoe with a small heel if they are comfortable. 

Quartet should wear black shoes to match their pants.  NO Sneakers.

Boys playing adults can wear dressy shoes to match their pants.  NO Sneakers.

We are need of help needed with the following:

Ticket Sales

Hair & Make up before the performances

Ironing Costumes

Snacks for the cast before performances and for the Cast Pizza Party

Rehearsal for Saturday 3/18 is still on as scheduled from 9-1

It would appear that Mother Nature is on our side for the Saturday rehearsal and the snowfall is expected to be less than originally forecasted so we are going ahead with rehearsal as planned from 9am to 1pm (dont' forget to bring a peanut-free snack and drink to having during our break).  Also, please keep in mind that if the Sussex County St. Patrick's Day Parade takes place today on Spring Street at 11am as planned, some streets may still be closed when we end rehearsal at 1pm.  The students will be instructed to wait inside the building where it is safe (and warmer) until their ride arrives.  A staff member will wait with the students until everyone is picked up - we don't want you to stress if you are delayed by traffic.  Please drive safely everyone!  If you need to contact the Directors you can reach Mrs. Penny by email at mpenny@newtonnj.org or for more urgent matters, by phone at 973-903-2930.

Rehearsal Schedule for the Week of March 13th

Rehearsals this last week were great!  Keep up the awesome work!!
A few reminders:
1) This Saturday, March 18th will be our first (of 3) Mandatory Saturday Rehearsals - please remember to bring a NON-NUT snack and drink to have during our break.  Also, please note that students MAY NOT leave the building at any time during the Saturday rehearsal and likewise, parents/guests are not permitted in the building while we rehearse.  Thank you for understanding!

2) T-Shirt orders will be collected on Monday, March 13th.  The cost of the shirts are $15 each and can be ordered by students, staff, family and friends. Payment can be submitted in cash or by check made out to Halsted Middle School.

3) There will be a parent meeting on Thursday evening to discuss areas where volunteers are being sought to help with our production.  We will also be discussing items that the students are being asked to provide as part of their costumes.  We hope to see all of our parents there!

4) Lastly, in the event that school or after school activities are canceled on Tuesday, the rehearsal scheduled for Tuesday will be moved to Friday evening.


Monday, March 13th
3:15 - 3:50  Conductor, Salesmen, Newspaper People, Charlie for "Rock Island"
3:15 - 3:45  All girls and boys band characters (including pants parts) in the show (measurements taken for costumes - you may not need to be there for the full 30 minutes)
3:50 - 4:15  Marian, Mrs. Paroo, Amaryllis - music
4:15 - 4:30  Marian and Harold
4:30 - 5:00  Harold

Tuesday, March 14th **  If there is a snow day, this rehearsal will take place on Friday evening**
3:15 - 5:30   All Speaking Parts

Wednesday, March 15th
3:15 - 3:50   Winthrop, Marian, Mrs. Paroo and Amaryllis
3:50 - 4:30   Pick-a-little Ladies, School Board Quartet, Marian & Harold
4:30 - 5:00   Harold

Thursday, March 16th
3:15 - 5:30   Full Cast Rehearsal (bring a small snack and drink if you want to have during a break)
7:30 - 8:30   **Parent Meeting to discuss help needed preparing for the show over the next few weeks

Friday, March 17th
7:00 - 9:00   **Make Up Rehearsal for All Speaking Parts if Tuesday is Cancelled due to bad weather

Saturday, March 18th
9:00am - 1:00pm   Mandatory Saturday Rehearsal **Bring a NON-NUT snack and drink to have during our break.  This is also the day of the town St. Patrick's Day parade.  Please note that sometimes roads close in the morning prior to the parade and the parking lot may be occupied with parade vehicles, Allow yourself ample time to get to the school in the morning.

Rehearsal Schedule for the Week of March 5th

We are exactly one month away from our opening night!  We have a lot to pack into this last month and lots of rehearsal still to do! In addition we will be holding a parent meeting next week so that interested parents can sign up to help with the show.  We will need assistance with Hair and makeup, copying and folding the program, coordinating snacks and drinks for the cast the week of the show, coordinating our cast pizza party after Saturday's performance, as well as to chaperone upstairs by the dressing rooms for a single performance.  Please look for more details to follow later this week.

Next week we will also be having small groups of students stay after the full cast rehearsal for a costume fitting - please watch for more details to come.


In addition, we will be taking orders for T-Shirts with the Music Man, Jr. Logo on them.  Order forms will be handed out at the Monday and Wednesday performances and will be collected on Friday.  The cost of the shirts will be $15 each.  Cast members and their families are invited to purchase a shirt!

Rehearsals for the Week of March 5th:

Monday, March 6th:
3:15 - 4:15   Full Cast
4:15 - 4:30   Conductor, Salesmen, Newspaper folks, Charlie & Harold
4:30 - 4:45   Winthrop (Music)  Pick-a-little ladies (costumes)
4:45 - 5:00   Harold

Wednesday, March 8th:
3:15 - 4:15   Full Cast
4:15 - 4:35   Quartet and Pick-a-littles/Eulalie for Music
4:35 - 5:30   Harold and Marian (bring a snack and drink if you think you will want one!)

Thursday, March 9th:
3:15 - 5:30   Full Cast (bring a snack/drink to have - we will take a brief break halfway through)