Cast, Crew Prepare for Pearl River High School Musical (VIDEO)

Director Dr. Rene Dalandan compared the process of putting together Pearl River's High School musical to a jigsaw puzzle.

"How to make every person fit into the big picture," said Dalandan, who is directing the musical for the first time. "They are involved in so many things in their lives, after-school activities. It's something of a challenge, but they feel good about it." 

The completed puzzle will be on display Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. when approximately 65 Pearl River students, cast and crew, will put on theproduction of Damn Yanees Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. in the high school auditiorium.

Damn Yankees is a modern version of the Faust legend of a man selling his soul, in this case for the opportunity to be a star baseball player and lead his beloved Washington Senators to victory over the New York Yankees.

"I'm into the classics," Dalandan said. "I feel like this is one musical that most kids must encounter at some point. The music is great. It deals with values, especially about not realizing the value of things until they are gone."

This is the first Pearl River High School musical directed by Dalandan, who teaches at the middle school. He also directed the high school dramatic production of Don't Drink the Water in February. 

"I wanted as many boys involved as possible," Dalandan said. "Some cast members told me when they learned it was about baseball, they got excited about doing it. Most high schools have difficulty getting boys to join (the musical). We don't have that problem.They are great singers and athletes as well.

"There is a misconception that theater is for boys with nothing else to do. These guys are involved in so many things. That's the challenge, how to fit a project like this into a busy lifestyle."

Another goal was to find something that could involve many of the same students he worked with on a middle school production of Oliver. 

"This was my dream cast when we did Oliver, which is a challenging musical," Dalandan said. "I was racking my brain for what musical can involve all of these kids. Everybody has something to do, at least one line to say. They are beginning to realize, even in the ensemble, that they are a huge part in the action of the play. They are involved in big dance numbers and scenes."

Tickets for the play will be sold at the door for $12 each. 

The full cast as well as the directors are below. 

Damn Yankees 

• Dr. Rene Dalandan- Director
• Tara Sobeck--Choreographer
• Brian Sampogna--Set Director
• Mario Espinoza--Lights/Sound Director
• Grace Kocubinski- Student Assistant Director

Cast

• LOLA- Amelia Marino
• MEG- Joanna McIntyre
• GLORIA- Dominique Carrieri
• JOE BOYD- Tom Muthig
• JOE HARDY- Luke Accetta
• APPLEGATE- Peter Mills
• SISTER- Helen Schneider
• VAN BUREN- Sam Coughlin
• VERNON- Declan Kelly
• SMOKEY- Stephen Bruno
• ROCKY- Tom Kinnally
• SOHOVIK- Sarah Sharrin
• HENRY- Brian Hayes
• DORIS- Caitlyn de Caprio
• LYNCH- Savannah Cuti
• WELCH- Chloe Channin
• MS.WESTON- Erin Brown
• COMMISSIONER- Brian Hayes
• POSTMASTER- Caitlin Pendleton
• WIVES- Genevieve Henderson, Erin McDermott, Juliette Nagle, Michele Sparrow, Samantha Murphy, Erin McDermitt
• HUSBANDS- Tom Kinnally, Declan Kelly, Stephen Bruno, Brian Hayes, Sam Coughlin, Kyle McCarrol
• LOLA’S DANCERS- Stephen Bruno and Tom Kinnally
• BASEBALL PLAYERS- Declan Kelly, Tom Kinnally, Stephen Bruno, Sarah Sharrin, Brian Hayes, Siobhan Murphy, Kyle McCarrol, Theresa Lionetti, Kim Spataro

Ensemble

• Jillian Beckerle
• Bridget Carmen
• Jenna Fabio
• Meaghan Gilbride
• Courtney Harris
• Katherine Hastings
• Annarose Heilferty
• Genevieve Henderson
• Samyrah Hosty
• Deanna Kerins
• Julie Kuhn
• Amanda Lionetti
• Amanda Nicastro
• Grace Patchadlo
• Emma Ryan
• Colleen Rogers
• Hope Williams
• Katie Zuidema