Letters, numbers, words and life lessons
MONROE — The North Main Elementary School Drama Club will present free performances of “The Phantom Tollbooth Jr.” on Saturday, Feb. 2, at 7 p.m. and Sunday, Feb. 3, at 2 p.m. at the Central Valley Elementary School auditorium.
This musical treatment of Norton Juster’s 1961 children’s book tells the story of a 10-year-old named Milo who is so bored with the world that nothing ever interests him, least of all the things or people that should.
One day, Milo discovers a large toy tollbooth sitting in his room. After driving through the tollbooth’s gates, Milo begins a fantastic adventure, which playfully draws inspiration from grammatical and mathematical concepts.
Armed with a dictionary and pencil and accompanied by his faithful “watch” dog named Tock, Milo must battle the demons of ignorance, reunite the kingdoms of “Dictionopolis” and “Digitopolis” and achieve the “impossible” mission of returning two princesses to the Kingdom of Wisdom.
Community effort
But the play is more than just a musical performance involving 91 cast members and 20 teen helpers from the middle school and high school, according to North Main music teacher Patricia Murray.
It’s also a community effort also designed to teach lessons about music, theatrical performance, volunteerism, fund raising, persuasive writing, literacy and marketing management.
Many North Main families assist in the production.
“The scenery has been created under the direction of Kathy Castro, Albert Murray, Joe Mignano and June Danielson,” said Murray. “The Vernola family has volunteered each weekend to help with the scenery. Representing parents, grandparents and uncles, Mike, Renee, Dan and Cooky Vernola have made a great contribution to the set.”
Another family effort comes from the Schacher family.
“Although they no longer have a child at North Main, both Richard and Celia still volunteer with their children Tyler and Emily,” Murray said. “Richard Schacher volunteers as the accompanist for the production while Celia, Tyler and Emily help out behind the scenes. Both children are alumni of North Main and Tyler, an eighth-grader, will be playing percussion for the performances.”
Costumes were created by Kathy Fisher and Linda Gordon. Costumes and props are organized and gathered by Theresa Weissburg, who organizes fund raisers with Marie Mirante. They sell T-shirts and buttons and have organized two fund-raising nights at McDonalds of Monroe.
As a result, McDonalds owners Gerald and Jackson McCoy have donated more than $1,000 to the North Main Drama Club, Murray said.
Numbers or letters?
The North Main literacy committee has organized a school-wide persuasive writing assignment to tie into the play. Students were asked: “Which do you believe is more important, numbers or letters?” with essays posted throughout the building.
The school store is also showing its support. Under the guidance of Kerry Scheetz-Drossos and Carol O’Neill, students are learning marketing and management skills while earning funds for the production, according to Murray.
The school’s main hallway walls have been transformed into a map featuring the setting of the Phantom Tollbooth. The library has been stocked with copies of the book, which are constantly in circulation and Friday mornings begin with a song from the sound track.
Additionally, Murray said, Nicole Regan, the district’s music coordinator, has also shown her support by getting BOCES funding and providing instruments for the pit ensemble.
Murray directs the production with assistance from teachers Kathleen McCabe and Lara Hansen.
If you go
Organizers suggest arriving early as the auditorium fills to capacity within a short period of time. To learn more, call 460-6800.
- Nancy Kriz