Music and Lyrics: Stephen Sondheim

Book: George Furth

Artistic Director: Mr. Ethan Mitchell

Music Director: Mr. Dan Warren

Technical Director: Elara Rodriguez

Stage Managers: Kade Metz, Maddy Tracci

Costume Designers: Ms. Miriam Gildea and Stella Gustafson

Sound Engineer:  Rylan Frazier

Light Designer: Angela Ferro

Props Master and Publicity: Madi Grider

Run Crew Chief: Sabrina Springer

Run Crew: Wyatt Ball, Connor King, Liv Curtis

Art Department Director: Chris Campanelli

Good evening and welcome to Merrily We Roll Along, the final production of the Covenant Theater season. These past two months have been a testament to the qualities that have made this program thrive. Immense talent and relentless enthusiasm from faculty and students alike have produced a truly remarkable show in a little more than five weeks. We are grateful for the support you have given us over these past three seasons. And I pray these performances will be a final gift to the Covenant community before we break for summer. 

Merrily We Roll Along holds a special place in my heart and it has been surreal to revisit it after a six year hiatus. It’s a play about growing up, following the lives of three artists – Frank, Charley, and Mary – whose close friendship has unraveled over time. The plot structure works in reverse, so we begin at the end of the friendship and end at the beginning. And all throughout the story we are posed with the central question: “How did you get to be here? What was the moment?” We find as the play goes on that Frank Shepherd’s life isn’t defined by one singular moment, but rather a series of little moments that each pushed him into his present-day predicament. And yet, Frank’s reflection of these moments proves to be a moment itself. Perhaps one that may bring about change for the better.

While the primary concerns of our main characters revolve around artistic integrity and purpose, their question smoothly applies to life in general. How did we get to be here? Where do we wish to be? And can we get there from here? Reflecting on my own life so far, it has been easy to lose sight of the present because I have been too busy looking toward the future or living in the past. You can get swept up in the hustle and bustle of daily life without taking stock of what is right in front of you. But every now and then, I consider the little actions I have taken that have brought me to this point. Auditioning for a musical for kicks in 9th grade brought me to a decades-long profession. Throwing a plate at an unsuspecting barwench’s head got me a fetching wife. An aimless online job search one July morning led me to the Covenant School. These pebbles of actions made huge ripples in my life and brought me close to the surety of our divine purpose. Although they seemed small at the moment, in reality they were seeds that blossomed into incredible, unpredictable fruits. 

In this season of proms, graduations, and new beginnings, this message of Merrily becomes all the more poignant for our students, our school, and the whole Covenant community. Soon, our seniors will be off on a new stage of life. Homes may get a little quieter (or louder depending on the empty-nest party). But amid all that head-spinning change, I pray that you do not forget what brought you to this moment, and where you are headed: that amid the busyness of life we remain rooted in the Truth, Beauty, and Goodness planted in our hearts by He who redeems the time. 

The first play I ever wrote, Brief Candles, begins with an epigraph from T.S. Eliot. It reads, “We shall not cease from exploration, and the end of our exploring will be to arrive where we started and know the place for the first time.” I am at the end of my exploring here at the Covenant School. As I look back on this time, I feel a bittersweet rush of emotion. The students, the faculty, the staff, the parents, you have all taught me what it is to live fully. It has been my honor to work alongside these students and bring the incarnate art of theater to life on this stage. 

To my students, may you never forget the roles you play in this Divine Comedy. And may the Lord fill your every step with wisdom and discernment as you stake your claim beyond this campus. Knowing a lot is great. Knowing what is important is paramount.

Thank you. And please enjoy the show.

“There is a tide in the affairs of men, which taken at the flood leads on to fortune. On such a full sea are we now afloat, and we must take the current when it serves or lose our fortunes.” Brutus in Julius Caesar

 

After the fanfare of the Winter Musical, Covenant’s custom has been to conclude the year with a small show that allows students to take the lead. I was therefore not surprised when, on the closing night of Oklahoma!, seniors Christopher Albert and Lily Lischke told me that they wanted to run an idea by me for a spring production. However, I was very surprised by the idea - another musical, and an ambitious one of that: Merrily We Roll Along. The challenges were manifold - of rallying a faculty that had just finished the successful but herculean lift of Oklahoma!, the need to drum up a budget for a show that had not been part of our planning, the need to navigate a busy end of year schedules, and the need to rally a sufficient cast of dedicated student musicians who would need to meet a higher standard of musical and academic expectations. We said we’d think about it.

 

Now the students knew this to be Mr. Mitchell’s favorite show, and some knew that he had unfinished business with it - he had been cast as Charley Kringas in a Villanova Production which had the ill-fated Opening date of March 17, 2020 - the show never happened. But what they didn’t know is that this would be Mr. Mitchell’s last show at Covenant. And so surprisingly, we had on our hands a show about the promises and perils of pursuing an artistic dream, with teacher and student navigating poignant moments of their own lives in regard to their artistic dreams, both of whom were using this show to help think through their situation. Life is rarely so poetic. . 

 

In order to put on this show, we moderated all our ambitions to a rough production - simple set, recorded music, limited cast, reduced time. But many of these limits have themselves been transcended as the show enticed others into its orbit - Miriam Gildea volunteered to teach Stella Gustafson the basics of costume design, and they have together outfitted the cast; Lucy Foshay gathered a few Covenant students (Sophie Waynor, 7th Grader Jack Ring!) and two of the finest high school musicians in the region (Zander Change and Matthew Hodge), David Euans and Dan Warren agreeing to play for the pit as well. Madi Grider rose to the occasion for a new poster, new cast and crew took this opportunity to take new roles in technical production, and the show moved forward.

 

This is the “tide” on which we find ourselves afloat, and rather than enumerate the risks, we’ve chosen to “take the current as it serves,” that we might experience this meaningful overlap between art and life in such a way that they can lead all of us into a fresh examination of Covenant’s perennial question - what does it mean to live well? 

 

A Note on the Show

As Ethan noted, the show pursues its question, “How did you get to be here?” by running in reverse, leading the viewer from consequences to actions, from outcomes to choices, excavating all the way back to youthful college students who first fastened on these vocational aspirations. This reverse narrative is both the intrigue and the challenge of the show, and it leaves the viewer with a lot to think about. We encourage you to use the faculty and students notes in this playbill, and then to talk to each other - about what happened in the show, and about how it seems to answer the questions that run at the heart of the show

 

As always, thank you for being here, and enjoy the show!

 

Franklin Shepherd…………………………………………………………………………………….….……Chris Albert

Charley Kringas……………………………………………………………………………………………..Johnnie Olson

Mary Flynn………………………………………………………………………………………………….…Kelly Johnson

Gussie Carnegie………………………………………………………………………………………….………Lily Lischke

Joe Josephson……………………………………………………………………………………….………….…Sam Gayle

Beth Spencer………………………………………………………………………………………..………Addy Anderson

Franky Jr.……………………………………………………………………………………………..…………...Oliver Kipp

Meg/Auditonee…………………………………………………………..……………………………………Nour Gilliam

Jerome……………………………………………………………………………………………………………Henri Lepage

K.T.………………………………………………………………………………..…………………Genevieve Liebengood

Ru…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..…………Benny Will

Scotty…………………………………………………………………………………………………….………Kiersten Ring

Bunker…………………………………………………………………………………………………………James Sumhka

Dory………………………………………………………………………………………………….………………Ella Watson

Terry……………………………………………………………………………………………………..……………Sam Gayle

Tyler………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….……Ed Flick

Mr. Spencer………………………………………………………………………………………….……………Caleb Byrne

Mrs. Spencer………………………………………………………………………………………………Katherine Albert

Photographer………………………………………………………………………………..…………………Zoe Levesque

Pianist………………………………………………………………………………………………..………Charlotte James

Evelyn………………………………………………………………………………………………….………Marshall Rome

T.V. Crew………………………………………………………………………………….…Virginia Chiesa, Keri Smith

Makeup Artist………………………………………………………………………………………Calliah Grace O’Brien

Minister……………………………………………………………………………………………..………………Benny Will

Party Goers………………………………………………………………Sara Rodriguez-Amaya, Adelaide Smith

Flute/Piccolo--Lucy Foshay*

Clarinet - Sophie Wayner*

Saxophone - Jack Ring*

Trumpets–Dayne Honaker*, Mr. Ethan Mitchell**

Keys--Alexander Chang

Keys–Matthew Hodge

Synthesizer–Mr. Dan Warren**

Percussion--Mr. David Euans**

 

*Denotes Covenant student

**Denotes Covenant employee