Elizabethtown townlively.com
FEBRUARY 19, 2025
SERVING THE LOCAL COMMUNITIES SINCE 1954
Set sail for fun with “The Pirates of Penzance” BY CAT SHANNON
The cast, crew members and pit orchestra of “The Pirates of Penzance”
almost all singing,” said Brendan. “A lot of the songs are very fast paced, patter songs.” The most well-known song in the show, “I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major-General,” is performed by freshman Stephan Fasick, who plays Major-General Stanley. Other big numbers in the show include “With Cat-Like Tread,” a song that reflects the irony of the musical. “It’s a song about how quiet they are being, but it’s a very loud, huge song,” shared Josie, who plays Ruth, a nurse who has helped to raise Frederic. Although the musical is technically an operetta, it’s still accessible, she noted. “It’s very entertaining to watch and listen to,” she said. “It’s a fresh style of storytelling that isn’t seen in a lot of contemporary musicals.” Junior Makayla Weaver plays
Frederic’s love interest, Mabel, the youngest daughter of Major-General Stanley. She agreed that the word “opera” may cause audiences to hesitate about seeing the show, but they shouldn’t. “It’s a really fun and spontaneous show,” she explained. “You don’t know what’s going to happen next. It’s not classical opera; there are a lot of fun jokes.” The musical features a cast and crew of about 130 students under the direction of Christy Blaisdell, Lauren Ritter and Aaron Oliver. Natalie Ott portrays another lead character, the Sergeant of Police. The sound managers are senior Andrew Stoner and junior Dia Gilleland, and the light managers are juniors Connor Dellinger and Ryan Siler. Seniors Adrienne Crick, Katie Lowell and Emma Griffith are the stage managers. “We help to plan the set, and we plan and arrange all of the
building, as well as organize the people who are helping backstage,” Adrienne said. Emma encourages audiences to come to the show, noting it’s full of surprises. “If you are familiar with this show, you may think it’s an older show, but we put a fresh new twist on it,” she said. “There are little bits throughout the show for all ages to enjoy.” From swordfighting to slapstick, there’s something for everyone in this musical, said Scott. “It’s a typical pirate adventure, except it has music added to it,” he commented. “If you’re expecting to come here and have an amazing time, we’re not going to disappoint you.” Tickets for the production may be purchased at https://tinyurl .com/EAHSPirateTix or at the door one hour before performances by cash or check only.
From E-town to Ireland
BY CAT SHANNON
In 2023, looking to launch a social media campaign called “Letters to Letterkenny,” a pen pal program between Elizabethtown and its Irish sister city, located in County Donegal, Kim Winey found a robust Facebook page, Letterkenny Cathedral Quarter. She connected with a man named Donnan Harvey through the page and proposed the concept. Harvey’s response, however, revealed a surprise: The two towns are no longer sister cities. “He let me know that the Letterkenny town council that signed the 2002 memorandum had dissolved in 2014, due to an economic collapse, making the agreement null and void,” Winey shared. “However, they were excited to hear from Elizabethtown and expressed an interest in establishing our partnership again.” Harvey continued talking with various leaders in Letterkenny, while Winey communicated with leaders in Elizabethtown to see if a reunification could take place. Winey and Harvey chatted regularly through Facebook and, in 2024, a plan came together. Winey had been hired for a job in Europe. ”I noticed that the Letterkenny Cathedral Quarter page didn’t have many professional photos representing the area,” she recalled. She reached out to Harvey to propose an idea: She’d come to Ireland to take photos for the page if he’d put her up somewhere and provide an itinerary of things to do in the Letterkenny area. See Ireland pg 8
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escribing Elizabethtown Area High School’s spring musical, cast member Josie Sirinides said, “It’s a pirate opera, a pirate musical, which is so fun. ‘Pirates’ and ‘opera’ are two things you wouldn’t think go together, but it works.” The school will present “The Pirates of Penzance” at 7 p.m. on Thursday and Friday, Feb. 27 and 28, and at 1 and 7 p.m. on Saturday, March 1. The show will be performed at the high school, 600 E. High St., Elizabethtown. Written by W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan in 1879, “The Pirates of Penzance” follows Frederic, a young man on the verge of discovering life. “Frederic is very young, very naïve, and I wouldn’t say he’s dumb, but he’s very earnest,” said Brendan Fritz, a senior who plays the character. “At a young age, he was indentured to a band of pirates. Now he’s 21 years old, and he’s out of his apprenticeship and he goes off into the world, which he has never seen before. That’s where he meets a bunch of other characters.” Frederic is the ward of The Pirate King, portrayed by senior Scott Creason. “He was indentured to me as a small child, and I’ve raised him in the ways of piracy,” Scott shared. “Now he wants to leave, and I don’t like that, but I have to let him go.” The Pirate King discovers a loophole in Frederic’s contract and decides to exploit that, knowing Frederic is a man who takes his duty very seriously and won’t be able to say no. “One thing that sets this musical apart from others is there is very little actual dialogue. It’s
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