Delayed By COVID, PHS Musical Goes Online
By Frank Sinatra, AAP Editor
Pennsauken High School’s performance of “The Hunchback of Notre Dame,” originally slated for April 2020 before the statewide shutdown, is getting its second act this month. Members of Pennsauken Stages are determined that this show will go on.
“We were working on the set until noon of March 13, 2020,” said Kate Guenther, theatre and vocal music teacher at Pennsauken High School. “Emotionally, we need to finish this show. We have a smaller cast, but we’re doing what we had planned last year.”
Pennsauken’s performance of “Hunchback,” the musical based on the famous Victor Hugo novel and Disney animated film, will be recorded in advance, and then streamed online via ShowTix4U.com. The cast will be fully masked and socially distant, with staging elements agreed upon by both the students and their families.
“We’ve changed everything around to make sure the cast stays safe,” explained Guenther.
As planned from last year, this rendition of “Hunchback” is looking to break a language barrier. In the book, Quasimodo is deaf due to the loud ringing of the bells. PHS Senior Christian Burkhart, who has aspirations to become an interpreter when he’s older, is incorporating American Sign Language into his role, something first done by Fifth Avenue Theatre in Seattle.
“Christian has worked very hard on this. All the kids have done an amazing job,” said Guenther. “The pandemic has been so hard on them. I’m extremely grateful to the Pennsauken School District for allowing us to do this performance. These wonderful students are finally getting their chance to share their amazing talent with our community.”
Video performances of “The Hunchback of Notre Dame” will be May 14 and 15 at 7:00 p.m.; and May 16 at 2:00 p.m. To access the performance, visit http://Bit.ly/PHSHunchback.
