Everyone knows and loves Disney’s animated classic, Aladdin. Lakeview’s annual spring play, especially as the first musical in three Lakeview showings, will be a must-see manifestation of the movie. The wait is finally over, and high school students will be treated to the culmination of the Drama department’s hard work this Friday morning, while parents and community members will get to enjoy the premier Saturday at 7:30 or Sunday at 3:00.

As always, a lot has gone into this year’s spring production by the cast and crew.

“I’m excited to perform for you guys, to show how much we can get done in three months, how fast we can learn lines and memorize music. It’s gonna be a nice performance,” said senior Sean Galela, speaking about the hard work he and his fellow cast members have put into this production.

Galela, who will star as Aladdin, said that “playing the lead role is something I’ve been looking forward to for a long time.”

In reprising the role, he hopes to show how much his character changes over the course of the performance. “I think that’s my favorite part, being able to show a character development in one and a half hours.”

Freshman Molly Stein, who first became involved with the drama club just last year as an eighth grader in a minor  role, will star alongside Galala as Jasmine. Of this achievement, she said, “especially as a freshman, I guess the best way to describe it is that I feel honored, I’m proud that someone was able to see something in me and can trust me with such a role.”

“She’s very independent and I definitely like that. I mean, one of my first lines is ‘what’s wrong with a woman running a kingdom?’ and I feel like that one kind of reflects me, too,” said Stein of her character’s personality.

Junior Douglas Gurdak, who has been part of Lakeview’s productions since he was in seventh grade, will play the part of the Genie. He is more than happy about receiving the role saying, “the character is very outgoing, which I enjoy because it matches my personality. I’m an extrovert, so it just kind of fits.”

Senior Robert Coller, who joined the drama club this school year, will portray the villainous Jafar.  Of being selected for the role he said, “I’ve never really thought about playing the bad guy before, but I thought it would be fun to explore, and it is. I really like it.”

For Coller and Galela, this weekend’s spring premiere will be bittersweet since as seniors this will be their last production with Lakeview’s Drama Club.

Galela, who has been a part of the drama club his entire high school career, likens his inevitable departure to losing a second home but says he’s trying to focus instead on being optimistic about the future. Of his experience, Galala said, “it has actually helped me figure out what I’m going to do with my life because I’m thinking of majoring in film.”

Coller has been similarly inspired by his involvement with the drama club which he joined just this past year. Of acting he said, “I’m just incredibly thankful for the experience of finally deciding I’m going to do it and finally realizing my passion. It’s sad, but I’m also happy I got to live it.”

According to the cast members interviewed, there is a lot to look forward to in regard to the sets, props, costumes, and special effects that are going to be used to enhance the musical.

“There’s some pretty neat special effects that we’re going to implement,” Coller said.

“I think the sets are built to the best of our ability and created in a well developed way,” added Galela.

“The costumes and the sets are really cool. We did a lot of cool stuff with the lighting too so hopefully it will be magical,” attested Gurdak.

As Coller pointed out, some special effects, namely “Jafar turning into a snake and crazy stuff like that” will not be able to be directly achieved.

Apart from the limitations of translating animated scenes into reality, it seems that as a high school production this musical will far exceed expectations.

“I think that the music is spot on, the acting is spot on, the costuming… everything is working for this one,” said Coller.

Don’t miss out on the chance to see your favorite Agrabah natives, who will all be brilliantly brought to life this Friday. To show further support for our school’s highly talented cast and crew come see the weekend performances on Saturday at 7:30 or Sunday at 3:00.