Five years ago, Hoboken school officials reinstituted a theater program in Hoboken High School.
The decision is beginning to reap extensive dividends. Recently, the Paper Mill Playhouse, a theater company based in Millburn, N.J., announced that Hoboken High has been nominated for eight of its prestigious Rising Star Awards for its production of West Side Story.
Among other awards, the play is nominated the competitive “Outstanding Overall Production of a Musical” award.
In an era of statewide budget deficits, music, art and theater programs have traditionally been the first to get the ax. School boards today, faced with deteriorating physical conditions in school buildings and the mandate to provide students such necessities as hot meals, protection and funding for the core curricula, often view art education as a luxury. But in Hoboken there has been an effort by several members of the school board to construct a viable arts program over the last couple of years.
In 1997, the Hoboken High School theater program was reborn after a 12-year hiatus. Since then, students have preformed The Wiz, Fiddler on the Roof, Once on this Island, and Dreamgirls in front of sold-out audiences. Once on this Island won the coveted award from Paper Mill for Best High School Musical in 1999. Paper Mill also runs summer theater programs for high school students.
Like ‘family’
Students at the high school said they were proud of their early May production.
“It’s been hard work but it has meant a lot to me,” said senior Jason Basilico Wednesday. Basilico played Big Deal in the musical. “It’s been another home for me,” he said. “It’s really one big family.”
In addition to being nominated for outstanding musical, Director of Theater Arts Paula Ohaus was nominated for best director, Erich Rausch for outstanding musical direction, and HHS graduate Jared Ramos for outstanding choreography/staging. Also nominated were Alexander Solodukho for lighting design and for scenic design, Michael Reese for lighting design and Iveliz Negron for best supporting actress. The school was also nominated for outstanding graphic design and received honorable mention recognition for the ensemble performance of the “Jets.”
“It’s hard to describe the feeling of being nominated,” said Negron. “I’ve never felt anything like this before. It’s very exciting.”
The Paper Mill’s Education Department oversees nine programs of educational outreach, theatre classes, and performances for young audiences.
The production
Since January, students preparing for the play spent upwards of four hours rehearsing after school and sometimes six hours a day on the weekends. Many of the members of the troop said Wednesday that the play gave them the opportunity to meet and socialize with people they might not have otherwise.
“It’s such a diverse group,” said Kevin Gonzalez, who played Riff.
“Before we started rehearing, none of us even knew each other. Now, we hang out after school for hours at a time. That would never have happened [without this play].”
The school’s diverse makeup is one of the reasons that West Side Story was chosen, said John Ernst, who played Snow Boy in the production, Wednesday. West Side Story is a updating of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, but instead of two warring families of Verona, there are two streets gangs of kids from two different immigrant cultures coexisting in one New York City neighborhood. “We can relate to it because it’s a city environment,” said Ernst. “It’s all real to us.”
The show’s director, Ohaus, said Wednesday that the high quality of the material made the work fun. “We worked hard, long hours but it never got boring, because the material is so well written,” she said.
While Ohaus gave most of the credit to the script, many of her students give the credit to her. “She really opens you up,” said Cynthia Serrano. “If it wasn’t for her, none of us would be able to do what we did. This entire group is really lucky to have her.”
As for the awards, the students say that they were just icing on a very rewarding experience.
“The real fun was performing, but the awards are a bonus,” said Ilyan Nunez, who played Maria. “Now that it is over, it’s nice to be recognized for our hard work and talent.”
The winners will be announced on Tuesday, June 11 at 7:30 p.m. at the Playhouse in Millburn.