Lots of work, planning go into school musicals as North Allegheny preps for 'Schoolhouse Rock'

As the cast and crew prepared to rock some knowledge in “Schoolhouse Rock Live Jr.,” which hits the stage Nov. 12, 13, 15 and 16 at North Allegheny Senior High School, music department chair Bob Tozier shared what it’s like to pull off a top-notch performance.

In his experience, the best recipe for a successful show is lots of “work, work, work, work.”

“Seriously, there is a lot of planning involved. Many of the pieces are on a timeline, and that may cause a buildup of needed things to occur at the same time. Musicals are one big giant machine with many components. We need all parts working at all times,” Tozier said.

Shows typically are cast about three months before rehearsals to give everyone — both cast and directors — time to prepare.

And teamwork is essential.

“What is the quote? ‘It takes a village,’ ” Tozier said.

The music department keeps a fairly large production document that houses all of the decisions to reference for each production, which acts as the “go-to place” for preparations, he said.

“All of us rely on each other to create one large, beautiful masterpiece. No single individual can make this happen. We try to diminish the competitive nature inherent to musicals. We are one big family,” Tozier said.

North Allegheny features a high school and middle school musical in the fall and a high school musical in the spring.

The middle school fall performance of “SchoolHouse Rock Live Jr.” is a musical adaptation of the classic “Schoolhouse Rock!” cartoon series that follows a nervous young teacher named Tom who turns on his TV to find the show’s characters coming to life, helping him prepare for his first day through songs covering history, grammar, science and more, according to a description on namusical.org.

Many of the show’s classic songs will be sung by students, including “A Noun Is a Person, Place or Thing,” performed by Chandler Tierney; “Just a Bill,” performed by Nathaniel Kant Zajac; and “Conjunction Junction” performed by Grayson Hudak, to name a few.

This production is coming just off the heels of “The Addams Family,” the high school musical that was held at the beginning of November.

With each production, the first steps begin with a director’s meeting to determine which parts of the show they want to tackle first, also taking into account student calendars to choose ideal times and dates to rehearse, Tozier said.

The first rehearsal for the middle school musical was Sept. 4, followed by every Monday, Thursday and Sunday afternoon.

Whether it’s “Schoolhouse Rock,” “The Addams Family” or the upcoming “Frozen Broadway Musical” in spring, all of the components of a musical — acting, singing, dancing and staging — are integral to a full-bodied production.

In fact, building set pieces begins right away, and the show’s costumer sizes students early in the process, said Tozier, who has served as theater director and producer since 2015.

The music and scripts are rented from the music companies, where a look is developed from those rented pieces.

“This is how we determine or build our staging, set pieces and choreography,” he said.

The team for “Schoolhouse Rock” includes members of the NA staff, including Director Andrea Jaecks; Vocal Coach Stephanie Bragiel; choreographer Victoria Clune; stage manager and set builder Justin Karolski; and and Tozier as producer.

There’s one very important time period that produces a plethora of feelings for cast and crew, and that’s tech week, held the week before the show, where the cast and everyone involved rehearse like it’s the real thing.

Tozier describes what it’s like.

“(It’s) a beautiful mixture of creativity, stress and enjoyment. We love to see the pieces all come together. It is also wonderful to see kids enjoying themselves with their friends,” he said.

For those students who are musical novices or experienced school-time stage thespians, the feeling of waiting to hear if they were cast is nerve-wracking, said Arjun Puri, a junior, who played Gomez in the recent “The Addams Family” musical.

“Waiting for audition results … most kids state that the waiting never leaves your mind,” said Puri of McCandless.

Olive Parsons, a senior who played Morticia in “The Addams Family,” agreed.

“Most kids scream with excitement when they see their role. There may also be a feeling that this is unreal,” said Parsons, also of McCandless.

Tozier has the easiest advice anytime someone misses a line or does something wrong onstage.

“Just keep going. It is still teamwork,” he said.

Tozier said his least favorite part of the job is “cutting a kid through the audition process. I always try to find another role for them within the production.”

Another notable moment for the whole crew is after a performance’s first successful night, when Tozier said “the energy is incredible.”

However, no matter how memorable the experience is, there’s always a feeling of sadness at the end of the show’s run, he said. But all the hustle is worth it in the end.

“My favorite part is seeing the smiles on the students’ faces when they hear their applause,” he said.

Tickets for “Schoolhouse Rock Jr. Live” can be purchased at namusical.com. Showtimes are 7 p.m. Nov. 13 and 15 and 2 p.m. Nov. 16 at North Allegheny Senior High, 10375 Perry Highway.

“Frozen,” the Broadway musical, will be performed Feb. 26-28 and March 1.