Megan Keough, a Walpole High graduate who is a senior at University of Massachusetts Boston, was thrilled when Mr. D’Attilio, the drama director at Walpole High, asked her to make an adaption of The Snow Queen for the stage at Walpole High.
“I told him I would love to write the play, and I was so excited to be a part of the drama club again,” said Keough. “This is my first legitimate accomplishment, and it is kind of nice to have this opportunity my senior year of college because it feels like a culmination of all my English courses,and it reminds me of where I came from.”
On Friday December 4 and Saturday December 5, the drama club will be putting on their fall production, The Snow Queen, at 7:30 p.m. in the auditorium. The play is a fairy tale originally written by Hans Christian Andersen and was published in 1845. Exploring the struggle between good and evil, the show is about a girl named Gerda, who is played by senior Bridget Connell, and her search for her best friend, Kay, who becomes evil after getting a shard of a cursed mirror in his eye.
The play has about five songs, but all are accapella, as opposed to the winter musicals that contain many songs and are accompanied by a pit band. For the show, Ms. Prickel, the new chorus teacher, has stepped in to assist in the musical aspects of the play.
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Photos by Ellie Kalemkeridis
Over the past few months, members of the club have had a very positive experience bringing the show together.
“This show has been a lot of fun and everybody has gotten close during this performance,” said Connell.
Many may not know that The Snow Queen has actually been in the making for the past few years. “I’ve been interested in the story for a long time,” said D’Attilio. “About a year or two ago I started looking around for somebody to actually make an adaptation, and I wanted something that was original that could have a flexible cast so I could get in as many people as possible.”
Over the past twenty-five years, D’Attilio has used the drama club and the plays as an outlet of creativity.
“It has allowed me to do a lot of things I’ve always wanted to do,” said D’Attilio. “It gives me a chance to do the shows I really like doing and experiment a little bit.”
Though D’Attilio has contributed much of his time and effort to put on The Snow Queen, the play never would have become a reality without Keough.
“It’s such a humbling experience,” said Keough. “I’m still so glad Mr. D’Attilio came to me with the opportunity.”
Tickets are available at $6 for students and senior citizens and $8 for adults for both Friday, December 4 and Saturday, December 5 on the Walpole High school website and at the door.
