"Lend Me a Tenor" cast lends audience a laugh

By Annabelle Julien & Grace Rossman MANAGING EDITORS PHOTOS | Grace Rossman

TWO PEAS IN A POD | As best friends off the stage and a married couple on stage, junior Marisa Licavoli, who plays Maria, loves to act alongside senior Gavin DeFillipo. “It is really fun to get in fake arguments with my friend Gavin, who's playing Tito, because we just get to goof off,” Licavoli said. “Gavin is really fun to work with, and the two of us have a lot of chemistry on stage.”

SEEING DOUBLE |

After being mistaken as dead, Tito the famous tenor, played by senior Gavin DeFillippo, returns to the stage. He hopes that the audience found this pivotal scene amusing. “I hope they just had a good time because it is a comedy, it is supposed to be fun,” DeFillippo said. “I just genuinely hope they enjoyed it.”

LOTS OF LAUGHTER | It took some time for junior Sloane O’Neill, who plays Julia, to learn the ins and outs of a comedy production. “This was my first time in a play like this and I had to learn how to make [my] lines funny,” O’Neill said. “There were many points in rehearsal where we would start laughing during a scene and it took a lot to keep it together at certain points.”

CASTING COMEDY|

Taking the North stage one last time as Max, senior Ryan Lutes wanted the performance to embody the play’s genre of comedy. “I hope [the audience’s] sides hurt from laughing because it is a really funny show,” Lutes said.

STEPPING INTO CHARACTER | To play Diana, senior Naima Wright had to step out of her comfort zone to take on the persona of someone that embodies traits different from her own. “My favorite part about playing Diana is her huge personality and her flashy but stunning outfits,” Wright said. “This role has taught me that as an actor you have to make big choices and get out of your own head to put your all into every character you play.”

ALL IN THIS TOGETHER | During their long hours rehearsing together, freshman Silas Wooten, who plays Henry, believes that the cast formed a friendship that enhanced their performance. “Sometimes in different casts [everyone] does not get along or you have some differences, but we are all together and we are all friends,” Wooten said. “I think with our dynamic in the show we are able to play off of each other really well.”

TIGHT-KNIT | The family dynamic that was created in the small cast of eight has allowed freshman William Murray, who plays the bellhop, to form bonds with each cast member. “I always look forward to rehearsal at the end of the day,” Murray said. “I feel very lucky to get to work with all the talented actors. I have gotten to make so many new friends and really immerse myself in the performing arts.”