After a five week rehearsal process, the Crusader Players opening night of their spring musical Cinderella is finally here. With a shorter time to put this high pressure show together, the Crusader Players put all in, and made something incredible.
This show showcases a lot of talent with everything from the acting and singing, to a whole ballroom scene full of beautiful dresses that students found and prepared to be in the show. This show is loaded with plenty of moments that will make your jaw drop.
“One of my favorite parts of the show is when I get to use my transformation dresses. They bring real magic to our fairy tale of a show! Props to Katie Mollet, for making the transformation dress from scratch,” Junior Ella Schmitz, who plays Cinderella, said.
This show has been able to bring others together in new ways and create new bonds. This gives others the opportunity to act with new people and make friendships they may never have had otherwise.
“I think the person I got to know better over this show was Evan Wunnenberg. Me and Evan have been doing shows together since 2018. We’ve known each other a little, but after this show we’ve really clicked. Getting to play roles that interact in almost every scene, gave me a lot of time to hang out with him,” Junior TJ Blattel, who plays Prince Topher, said.
Cinderella also gave the Crusader Players a chance to take a step out of their comfort zone and try something new. Whether it is a big role to someone who has been in the background for every other show, or a deep dive into a character they thought they never would’ve played.
“The most challenging part of this role has got to be the complexity of Gabrielle’s character. She is a mean character part of the time and then kind the rest. It was finding that balance that made it hard,” Junior Dorthy McMillen said.
This show is special for a different reason because this show is the seniors’ last show as high school students. While it is hard to say goodbye, this show is really doing a wonderful job of bringing everyone together one last time.
“I’m very excited to move on in my life and continue to act professionally. I’m going to miss the people and all of the memories I’ve made along the way,” Senior Lindsey Moore, who plays Madame, said.
One stand out senior who will be missed a lot in the theater company is Ally Black. Ally has been the stage manager for every show since her freshman year. She is the only senior to never miss a single show, which includes working the summer shows. As a total she has been in 16 shows here at St. Dominic.
“It is bittersweet that it is my last and I am going to miss my crew so much. I am extremely thankful for the time I’ve had here,” Black said.
Wherever our seniors go from here, we stand behind them because they are a Crusader for life. If you want to support our incredible seniors in their final show, you can get your tickets in the bulletin for this weekend’s shows, or look on the St. Dominic website.
