Middle school doing a ‘Pop Musical’

The Glen Ridge Middle School Drama Club will present, “Emma: A Pop Musical,” on Friday, March 15, at 7 p.m., and Saturday, March 16, at 1 p.m.

The show is based on the eponymous 1815 Jane Austen novel and involves the title character who fancies herself a matchmaker, particularly for her friend, Harriet. But given the dangerous reckonings of young hearts, there are fraught plot twists which resolve happily in binding knots by curtain.

There are five boys and 37 girls in the cast with the roles of Emma and Harriet double-cast.

Portraying Emma will be Chloe Van Wayenberg and Lila Seiden, both eighth-graders. Harriet will be played by seventh-graders Alice Rayner and  Greta Pauliks.

It will be presented in the Ridgewood Elementary School auditorium. An admission will be charged.

Chloe, Lila and Alice spoke to this reporter during a rehearsal break last week.

They said superficially the musical is about Emma who wants to be a matchmaker to Harriet, but it’s really a story about self-discovery. This is because Emma learns that to find the boy of her dreams, she ought to follow her heart and leave Harriet’s heart, which has already found its perfect guy, alone. Harriet eventually winds up with Martin, a poor boy, with seventh-grader Drew Engel and eighth-grader Matthew DeLuca double-cast in the role. Emma winds up with Jeff, a rich boy, played by eighth-grader Austin Spencer. At first, Emma and Jeff deny their feelings for each other.

Lila, playing Emma, said she drew from her own life experiences for the role.

“I have my own real-life Harriet,” she said, “Some of my friends need my guidance, but they opened my eyes to a different point of view.”

“I can relate to Emma,” Chloe said. “I always give a lot of advice. But Lila and I play Emma differently.”

Lila agreed.

“I feel we have different life experiences,” Lila said. “When I watch Chloe rehearsing, I see her shine through. But I also see her acting and she plays Emma very well.”
Alice, who plays Harriet, said her acting is partly based on herself.

“But Harriet is spastic,” she said. “I’m more with it. Playing her, I have to always bump into things and I’m not like that. She’s different from other characters I’ve played.”
All three actors have performed previously in school and Gas Lamp Junior productions.

Lila said it took her a while to portray Emma’s emotions even though her actions were the same as her own would be.

“But you can learn from your character and the experiences they’ve had,” she said. “I’ve learned how to balance different emotions from Emma. She can be very self-aware. I can take those lessons and apply them to my own life.”

However, Lila said it was difficult adjusting to actors she did not know as performers. She usually practices her lines in front of a mirror and her family is very supportive.
“Except for my brother who gets upset when I sing in the house,” she said.

Chloe said although Emma and she were dissimilar, it was not difficult to understand the character.

“Acting is a way I can get my emotions out in a fun way,” she said. “And I love singing.”

“Emma” is a jukebox musical with songs from the ‘60s and ‘70s comprising the score. The show’s director, Heather Ballantyne, said although there is singing, it is a quintessential karaoke musical.

“I have a lot of female roles even though there are a lot of male roles,” she said, explaining why she chose to do this musical. “But I wanted something more female-forward.”

The 1995 movie, “Clueless,” was also based on the same Austen novel.

“The biggest challenge was the music,” she said. “I know the music, but not the kids. They weren’t familiar with the older tunes. But there’s nothing really challenging.

What’s neat is that the whole company is on the stage probably for half an hour because the action takes place in a dining hall of a private school. It’s fun, but challenging because a lot of the kids are on stage.”

The show is 85 minutes without an intermission.

“Without a break, I think that’s better for the kids so there’s no dip in energy,’ Ballantyne said. “I prefer no intermissions and I think the audience does, too.”
Pianist Jess Glover will play over the tops of recorded music tracks. Ballantyne has seen other versions of “Emma,” with their drab prep school costuming, but her cast will sport interesting and individual attire.

  Glen Ridge