Musicians prepare for ‘South Pacific’

High school theater will perform the musical “South Pacific” on Friday at 7 p.m. as well as Saturday at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.. Musicians playing in the performance have been working from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. every day after school this week to prepare.

“South Pacific” takes place around World War II with the U.S. stationed in the Pacific Islands during the conflict with Japan. Its themes feature everything from overcoming racial discrimination to love and loss.

“This musical is very string-heavy, and I think that’s really neat,” freshman musician Elizabeth Beattie said. “This musical really shows off the vocalists and has a cool story.”

Freshman musician Laith Rukab adds that while very cool, the efficiency and focus during tech week has been difficult, but gets more disciplined as the week goes on.

“The process is very interesting,” Beattie said. “We get to watch the musical, the first rehearsal, and read through our music at the same time so we get an idea of what is happening when and know what the story is truly about. From there, we go through piece by piece and fix everything so the performance sounds as good as possible.”

Rukab said the pit orchestra is ready to go.

“I’m really just looking forward to putting on a great show that allows the audience to enjoy our musical and acting talents,” Rukab said.

By Bailey Hetzel