By Ciara Reed

On April 30 at 7 p.m., the Tuscarora Drama Department will be premiering their recreation of the famous musical, Cats. Cats is concentrated around a tribe of felines known as the Jellicles, who introduce themselves one by one through dance and song. The production will be performed on the last day of April, and the first three days of May, with tickets available for purchase on the Tuscarora High School website. All the roles have been assigned and the cast has been dedicated to rehearsals since January every Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday of the week.

Each rehearsal day varies and is centered around a specific area of the show that needs to be tended to or improved. Tuesdays are set aside for senior Stephen Coakley and junior Kyle Ebbets to teach the music of Cats to the rest of the cast. On Wednesdays and Thursdays, however, senior Carly Smith and sophomore Meghan Muldoon teach choreography, and the entire cast practices the dance steps. Lastly, on Saturdays, the cast runs the show and refines the dances. They also do cardio conditioning to build endurance and to ensure the actors don’t get winded while putting as much energy and liveliness into their performance as possible. Given that opening night isn’t until the spring, everything is still under production; however the drama department is making amazing progress.

“I really like my role. The dance aspect of it is a bit challenging, but it only pushes me to work harder and put on the best show that I can,” said senior Shannon Keye, who plays Rumpleteazer.

The costume designer, senior Milan Ball, is in charge of replicating the unique and intricate costumes of the real Broadway Cats musical. Ball is in the process of crafting the garments from scratch using cheetah- and leopard-printed fur. Junior Daniella Roberge is responsible for the makeup for the show and must turn the faces of the drama students into lifelike cats.

The entire cast is thrilled about putting on this musical. “Our best [musical] to date, by far. We have the most talented and dedicated cast ever,” said Coakley, who plays the role of Rum Tum Tugger. The drama department has high expectations for Cats and is putting their all into making it a show to remember. The mixture of talent and creativity incorporated into the musical will hopefully make it one of the best performances ever seen at Tuscarora High School.