Notre Dame students perform 'Singin' in the rain'

After their musical was canceled in spring of 2020 due to the pandemic, Notre Dame Regional High School students are putting on a musical once again.

The cast will be singing and dancing in "Singin in the Rain," based on the film of the same title.

Since the pandemic is ongoing and masks are still required at the school, the cast had to adjust the way they normally put on a show. Everyone involved wore face coverings until a few weeks ago those on stage began to wear clear face shields, according to director Cynthia King.

"For a lot of the kids, that's a point of pride with them, that are willing to do what they need to do to have the show happen," King said.

According to King, the adjustments they made to be mindful of the spread of COVID-19 include having face shields for actors on stage and masks for everyone else. Ticketing was done differently to adjust seats to be in distanced groups from one another. There is also an option to buy a ticket to watch it live-streamed. The orchestra excluded live brass music, since blown air needs to be involved to play them, and is instead playing those digitally with live string and percussion instruments by masked musicians.

Ben Schumer as Cosmo Brown, center, performs Make Em Laugh during a dress rehearsal of Singin in the Rain at Notre Dame Regional High School in Cape Girardeau.Sarah Yenesel ~ sarahy@semissourian.com

Lead of the show who is playing Don Lockwood, Slaten Vowels, said learning to tap dance and dancing with a face shield has not been easy.

"I am thrilled to have learned tap dancing with the cast and to explore this new realm of dance, that's what I love about 'Singin in the Rain,'" Vowels said.

Anna Schuchardt as Kathy Selden said learning to tap dance was difficult for her, too, even though she had some experience in it from when she was younger. Although, she said she was able to pick it up again once she got the hang of it.

Assistant Director Kaylin Zoellner acknowledged their actors' growth. "I've been here in the beginning, since auditions, and I have seen how everyone has auditioned, their acting and their singing and all that, and I have watched how they progressed, like built into the character, and it's exciting to see where they started to where they are on the opening night," Zoellner said.

"I think the audience is just going to love it. I know they will because it's just so much fun. And the students are having fun learning new skills, and they're ready to show it," King said.