This upcoming weekend, Kenmore West High School will take visitors on a journey to ancient Rome for an evening of laughs, farce and an abundance of mistaken identity. The high school’s production of the musical comedy “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” takes place 7:30 p.m., Thursday through Saturday, March 5-7, in the school auditorium. Tickets are $10 for adults and $8 for students. The musical, which debuted on Broadway in 1962, has won a number of Tony Awards and chronicles the adventures of a Roman slave named Pseudolus, who tries to win his own freedom by helping his master, Hero, to woo Hero’s love interest, Philia. Along the way, humorous situations, lively songs and physical comedy entertain, inspired by both the farces of ancient Roman playwright Plautus and early 20th-century vaudeville acts. The cast includes John Boughton as Pseudolus; Allison Cimerin as Philia; Mike Bergman as Hero; Ronnie Stewart as Hysterium, a fellow slave and friend of Pseudolus; Matt Mansell as Roman army captain Miles Gloriosus; Andrew Widmer as the Roman senator Senex and Kassidy Knight as Senex’s manipulative wife, Domina. In all, the Kenmore West production of “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” includes over 70 students, including the cast, orchestra members and crew. Philip Jarosz, a math
Kenmore West High School student, Matt Mansell, portrays Roman army captain Miles Gloriosus confronting the main character Pseudolus, played by student John Boughton. teacher at Kenmore West and the musical’s director, spoke Monday about planning out and deciding to pick this particular play for Kenmore West’s students to perform this year. “I chose ‘A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum’ because it has been a few years since we’ve done a comedy, and based on the talented students at Kenmore West, I felt we had many ways to bring the story to life,”
Jarosz said. “The musical is a classic dating back to the 1960s, and was the first musical for which Stephen Sondheim wrote both the music and lyrics.” Jarosz also called “Forum” a “mix of slapstick and quick-witted humor” that includes “all of the classic comedic elements, from chases to prat falls to mistaken identity, with a collection of memorable tunes to boot.” The audition process began in ear-
ly December, with vocal rehearsals starting then. Stage work and choreography continued through January and February. In addition to Jarosz’s direction, the Kenmore West production of ‘Forum’ will include the talents of several members of the high school’s faculty, with choreography by Cathleen Riso, vocal direction by Paul LaDuca, instrumental direction by Kenneth Belote and sets created by
Kenmore West High School student Mike Bergman portrays Hero, son of a Roman senator, and his love interest Philia, played by student Allison Cimerin.
Russell LaManna. When asked about the significance of a musical to Kenmore West’s history, Jarosz said this is a longstanding tradition in the Ken-Ton community, with three productions each year: a fall play, a winter musical and a spring play. The focus is on providing students many memorable experiences for their high school career, which also help their learning experience.
“We strive to provide the students with a variety of experiences, from contemporary to classical works, throughout their four years of high school,” Jarosz said. “The productions complement a full four-year academic program in theatre, along with our advanced International Baccalaureate theatre courses.”
Town swears in new police chief, names assistant chief By Kimberlee Sabshin NT SUN CORRESPONDENT
On Monday night, the Town of Tonawanda officially welcomed its newest chief of police. Former Assistant Chief of Police Jerome Uschold was sworn in before a large audience of town officials, family, friends and residents. Town Supervisor Anthony Caruana said Uschold, whose wife, Lynn, and their three children stood with him as he was sworn in, has been a decorated member of the town’s police force for over 31 years. Before becoming assistant chief, he had spent six years as a road patrol officer, six years as a road patrol supervisor and lieutenant, four years as police captain and training bureau commander, and nine years as assistant chief of operations and finally the assistant chief of police. “He’s extremely well-qualified for this new position, with extensive courses in police enforcement, including the prestigious FBI National Academy in Quantico, Va., which has given him exposure at the international
level,” Caruana said. “He’s also served as a member of our Special Weapons Tactics Team, which is the SWAT Team, and as assistant chief, he has been responsible for the day-to-day operations of the department along with our former chief.” At the Town Board’s Jan. 27 meeting, Uschold was announced as successor to former Chief Anthony Palombo, who would be retiring. At that same meeting, Uschold said he was “happy and excited” about the new position, while calling Palombo an “excellent chief” and also confirming he will continue many of the programs Palombo began with the department. Additionally, the town promoted Captain James Stauffinger, who will now be the newest Assistant Chief of Police, to fill Uschold’s former position. . In the past, he has worked with the department’s commercial motor vehicle safety program and the town’s community policing program, and is a Marine Corps veteran. “We congratulate you, Jim on your new position, and he’ll be formally sworn in lat-
er this week,” Caruana said. In other business, the town conducted a hearing regarding the permanent removal of a traffic signal and installation of a permanent stop sign at Brighton Road and Parkhurst Boulevard. After hearing from residents and deliberating amongst themselves, the board ultimately voted to put the traffic signal back, which was met with scattered applause from residents. In a public hearing, Town Engineer Jim Jones said the town’s engineering department and Erie County officials had discussed the signal in question, and traffic was counted in 2010. In studying traffic volumes, they found a red light was not needed. A study the town and Erie County conducted found traffic has decreased on Brighton Road since the late 1980s, when about 14,000 cars traveled the road per day. Today, approximately 10,000 cars travel through that intersection. “We’ve observed traffic patterns in that time frame,” explained Jones. “The signal has actually been turned off
Town Supervisor Anthony Caruana swore in Jerome Uschold as Chief of Police on Monday. since September, and the intersection has been operating with a stop sign control on northbound Parkhurst. Traffic seems to be operating efficiently with its current stop sign control, so we’d like to consider just keeping the signal permanently removed.” However, several residents expressed their disapproval and asked for the traffic signal to be put back, which ultimately led the council to
vote against removing the signal. Neighbors noted the proximity of this intersection to Kenmore East High School, with accompanying school buses, and that would make it more difficult for residents to get in and out of their driveways. Corey Tornquist, a resident of Brighton, said the stop light “makes a huge difference when backing out” of his driveway. Damon Piatek, who lives on
Briarhurst Drive, said the removal of the traffic signal would encourage cars to speed near the high school. In response, Jones acknowledged pedestrians were not accounted for when the town and the county analyzed and conducted a study of the traffic patterns at that intersection, but rather they focused strictly on traffic flow.
Choral students going ‘Back to the Future’ By Kaitlin Urban
NT SUN CORRESPONDENT
The time has come and tickets for the 20th anniversary cabaret are now on sale. The choral department, accompanied by many former students, will be going “Back to the Future” with this year’s show. After countless hours of preparation, Maestro Dean Vallas says his students are ready to take the stage. “The choruses are doing a great job on all the large numbers and individual acts are practicing to perfect their
performances,” said Vallas. “Alumni are also working with the help of online practice tools to ensure they are ready for this amazing show.” He added that with the help of his alumni Facebook page, more than 50 former students have committed to participating in this year’s shows. Vallas also mentioned there may be a rehearsal at the school as well for them. As for the current students, this is a very exciting time for them and cabaret is a big event. “They’re getting so excited,” Vallas said. “Cabaret is always something they look
forward to. This year’s anniversary makes it even more special and generates more excitement.” While the weekend of shows is a time many students look forward to, Vallas said the feedback from his former students has also been great. Many of them have told him they’re excited to return to the cabaret stage where many high school memories were generated. “They too are very excited to return to NTHS for this show,” he stated. “We will have alumni actively involved in the show’s performance as well as the prepara-
tion.” Renee Obringer from the class of 1999 has even choreographed a number for the alumni to perform. The songs chosen for this year’s show are ones that were performed on the cabaret stage within the past 20 years. Vallas said there is a wide variety of music. “We have never repeated a theme with cabaret, so we will have everything from pop to broadway, and country to the 50s,” he said. “There is something for everyone.” Tickets can be purchased at the online ticketing office box at NTSings.com. When
purchasing tickets, guests will reserve their seats for one of the three shows that will take place throughout the weekend. If a show is not sold out, tickets will be available at the door. Each table seats 10 people. Vallas encourages guests to purchase tickets ahead of time to ensure their seats for a great show. “I expect we will maintain the same quality cabaret is known for but the show will be amped up with the anniversary celebration,” he added. “It will be a fantastic time.” Shows will be held in the
evening on Friday, March 13 and in the afternoon and evening on Saturday March 14 at NTHS. This type of celebration only happens every 10 years, so those who love a great show, won’t want to miss it. The salute to the past will take the audience through the many different themes cabaret has been based on. The show will take the students and alumni back to the future, as they perform their favorite hits. This year’s cabaret will be one that no one will want to miss.