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The official student newspaper of St. John's School.

The Review

The official student newspaper of St. John's School.

The Review

The official student newspaper of St. John's School.

The Review

For actors, theater is worth sacrificing school and free time. Many view theater as a recreational pastime rather than a burden. 

The life of a St. John’s performer

Richard Liang, Staff Writer March 10, 2022
Preparations for both the play and the musical “Newsies” began months before their opening nights, starting with auditions. Actors devoted many hours memorizing lines, rehearsing and perfecting the scenes. The end of production is often met with mixed reactions.
At a rally held by newsies in Medda Larkin’s theater, kids from different boroughs band together to fight for fair working conditions.

Photo Gallery: “Newsies”

Isabella Diaz-Mira, Staff Writer March 3, 2022
On March 3, 4 and 5, Upper School students will perform “Newsies.” The musical tells the story of the New York City newsboys’ strike of 1899 and revolves around a group of Manhattan “newsies,” their leader, Jack Kelly, and a reporter who goes by Katherine Plumber.
Cheerleaders and Drum Corps perform at the Upper School pep rally.

Kinkaid video catastrophe: Projector malfunctions during Upper School pep rally

Aleena Gilani and Evan Zhang November 30, 2021
On Oct. 29, students gathered in the VST for the Upper School pep rally. Yet, before the Kinkaid video could play, the projector malfunctioned.
Katina Christensen played Jack's Mother in "Into the Woods." Because the show took place indoors, all actors wore large, clear face masks.

Sondheim’s “Into the Woods” brought to Lowe stage

Mia Hong, Lillian Poag, and Yasmin Stein April 7, 2021
"Into the Woods" seemed like the perfect musical to perform amid a pandemic: small cast and minimal choreography. Little did Director Jamie Stires-Hardin know how complicated staging a musical during a pandemic would turn out to be.
To produce some of the plays, actors filmed their individual performances from home, and the videos will be arranged on the screen, similar to a Zoom call.

Johnnycake hosts first-ever Student Playwriting Festival

Abigail Hindman and Ella Piper Claffy November 18, 2020
Johnnycake and fine arts directors decided to hold the first-ever Student Playwriting Festival this year.
Last year's musical, "Mamma Mia!", drew a crowd of over 600 people. Theater productions for 2020-2021 have been modified to perform safely.

Johnnycake transitions to online auditions, creates new Student Playwriting Festival

Gabrielle Solymosy, Copy Editor October 1, 2020
With the virtual start to the school year, Upper School theater directors met with Johnnycake officers over the summer to adapt and revamp their production plans. 
The cast of "The Cripple of Inishmaan" has been attending regular rehearsals in the Black Box leading up to the play.

‘Cripple of Inishmaan’ cast prepares for performance, explores Irish dialect

Gabrielle Solymosy, Cameron Ederle, and Ryan Doughty January 29, 2020
The cast of "The Cripple of Inishmaan" used unique methods to learn the Irish dialect used in the play.
D’Artagnan (sophomore Tanner Watson, middle) defends Constance (junior Natalie Brown, right) from Count Rochefort (junior Henry Miller, left).

Three Musketeers, EHS football game scheduled simultaneously

Russell Li, Staff Writer October 28, 2019
The Upper School fall play "The Three Musketeers" and the football game against EHS took place at the same time on Oct. 4.
The Fall One Acts, Zombies for Dummies, will be performed on Oct. 20 at 2:00 and 5:00 in the Black Box Theater.

Fall One Acts cast transforms into zombies

Mia Baumann and Ryan Doughty October 20, 2019
The Fall One Acts, Zombies for Dummies, will be performed on Oct. 20 at 2:00 and 5:00 in the Black Box Theater.
Freshman Ava Steely applies sophomore Alex Aitken's zombie makeup.

Video: Behind the scenes of the Fall One Acts

Ryan Doughty, Video Editor October 19, 2019
Video Editor Ryan Doughty goes behind the scenes of the Fall One Acts set.
Franklin Hart (played by senior Gray Watson) hangs in midair as three of his employees take revenge on him for his sexist, egotistical nature.

“9 to 5” explores feminism in work environment

Fareen Dhuka, Online Section Editor March 23, 2019
On March 1 and 2, Upper School students performed "9 to 5," a musical that showcases the theme of female empowerment in a work environment.
Freshmen Lindsay Frankfort and Ella West acted opposite one another in the One-Acts.

Fall One-Acts offers actors more onstage time, larger roles

Ashley Yen, Staff Writer November 4, 2018
The Fall One-Acts, performed on Oct. 21, gave students the opportunity to explore theater and play larger roles.
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