MCS Theatre Club kicks of 20th anniversary with auditions

This past week, dozens of eager actors and actresses trooped to Mount Carmel School’s room A-201 for auditions for two of the Theatre Club’s upcoming productions, the musical White Christmas and the tragedy Last Supper. Both shows are part of the club’s yearlong celebration of its 20th anniversary.

Senior and MCS Theatre Club veteran Jonathan Pangelinan, right, leads elementary students in singing White Christmas during auditions. (Contributed Photo)

White Christmas is based on the 1954 film starring Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Vera Ellen, and Rosemary Clooney, and features the classic holiday song of the same name. At the helm directing White Christmas is Theatre Club veteran and senior Jonathan Pangelinan.

“Every year, I love watching Christmas movies, but never did watch this movie. After I did, though, I realized that it was nostalgic and perfect for the season,” said Pangelinan. “And I’ve always wanted to direct and put on a successful play with sold-out shows.”

As a veteran of the club who started when he was in 6th grade, Pangelinan is no stranger to the stage, having performed in Winter’s Tale, What’s Going On, Zero to Hero, Rapunzeled, 12th Knight, and, most recently, as Olaf in Snow Queen.

When asked why he has stuck with the club for so long, he said, “In Theatre Club, it feels like you’re in a family, where everyone gets close by rehearsing for shows or shooting movies.”

White Christmas will be shown during the first weekend in December.

Last Supper is an original play that is being written and directed by Theatre Club founder, 1991 AlumKnight, and school president, Galvin Deleon Guerrero. The play will explore different dimensions of suicide as a family gathers together for a Thanksgiving dinner.

“We’ve staged plays about many social issues in the past, like domestic violence, sexual assault, and substance abuse, but we’ve never really addressed the issue of suicide,” Deleon Guerrero said. “While suicide rates rise and fall in any community, it’s always an issue for many people who have considered it or have been affected by it. That’s why I feel so strongly about putting on this show.”

Drawing from his experience and studies at New York University’s film program this past summer, Deleon Guerrero will also shoot Last Supper as a film. He noted that “the rehearsal process for the stage version will fuel the performances in the film version, and vice versa, so it’ll be a very cool symbiotic synthesis of sorts.”

Last Supper will be shown during the weekend right before Thanksgiving.

In addition to White Christmas and Last Supper, Mount Carmel School’s Theatre Club will commemorate its 20th anniversary with a May 2016 production of Disney’s Broadway hit, The Lion King. The show will include a dinner performance that will feature a retrospective program honoring the club’s 20 years of stage and film productions. The club is encouraging all Theatre Club AlumKnights to participate in the momentous occasion. For more information about the Theatre Club’s 20th anniversary and its shows, call 234-6184. (MCS)