For the past two weekends (Sept. 19-22 and 26-29), performance theatre, tech theatre, dance and orchestra majors have collaborated on Tuck Everlasting, the Heller Award-eligible fall musical. The cast performed eight shows, two of which were alternate nights, in which understudies received the chance to perform their roles.  

Tuck Everlasting merged tragedy and comedy, tap dancing and ballet. From eight-hour-long rehearsals to lunches spent choreographing bows, Tuck Everlasting demanded the utmost commitment from actors, technicians, and musicians and culminated in a production that showcased the diverse strengths of McCallum’s Fine Arts Academy 

We are proud to shine a spotlight on Tuck Everlasting for this week’s Tuesday Top 10.

CAN’T TRUST A MAN DRESSED IN YELLOW: Senior Robin Kulhanek performs as The Man in the Yellow Suit in the Tuck Everlasting matinee performance on Sunday Sept. 22. Kulhanek was one of five understudies to perform their role on the first Sunday matinee performance in the MAC. For Kulhanek, playing the Man In the Yellow Suit was a unique experience that required him to perfect the physical aspects of the character. 

“I love doing really big character roles where like, every single line is over-exaggerated: every position, posture, how he carries himself is very animated,” Kulhanek said. “It’s always very fun to play the villain of the show.”

Kulhanek said that he thought the alternate show went well, despite a few technical difficulties.

“There were a couple technical errors, but other than that, I feel like it went really smoothly,” Kulhanek said.

Although the show’s run was not everlasting, Kulhanek says that the show has brought people in the theatre community together and strengthened friendships.

“It’s been very rewarding, it’s been very unifying,” Kulhanek said. “We are all really close, and we all have so much love for each other. This has been the most positive, caring cast I’ve ever been a part of.”

Caption and photo by Katie Martin.

CONNECTING WITH THE CAST: Berit Ellwanger and Elodie Bolch perform together during the song “Partner in Crime” during the first Friday evening performance of Tuck Everlasting’s on Sept. 20. As an ensemble member, Ellwanger performed in almost all of the musical numbers. Because of this, she feels that she was able to better connect with everyone in the cast, and she enjoyed showcasing herself as many different characters in the musical.

“I really loved being in the ensemble because it gives you a chance to be in almost all the scenes,” Ellwanger said. “It lets you have your own artistic expression, which can let you contribute in so many ways to the big picture; also, the costumes are really fun.”

This being her third musical at McCallum, Ellwanger felt that the show was able to come together efficiently and was performed well due to everyone’s full engagement during rehearsals.

“Overall, I think the production was wonderful,” Ellwanger said. “The cast and crew really worked hard and put on an amazing show. The rehearsal process was amazing as well; it was a really tight-knit cast, and I enjoyed the whole experience.”

While connecting with everyone as an ensemble member, Ellwanger feels that the whole cast really clicked during Tuck Everlasting. She’s looking forward to the spring musical, Freaky Friday, to bring the same bonding experience.

“I am hopeful that we will keep the casts tight-knit like this show because it helped us form a really strong team and a really spectacular show,” Ellwanger said.

Caption by Harper Maxwell. Photo by Priya Thoppil.

A MUSICAL MATINEE: The cast of Tuck Everlasting, including senior ensemble member Sofia Rayas, performs the first act’s final number, “Seventeen”, during the show’s opening weekend Sunday matinee. In the song, one of the titular characters, Jesse Tuck (Austin Pain), attempts to convince protagonist Winnie Foster (Paityn Jones) to drink spring water to become immortal when she turns 17.

According to Rayas, opening weekend is stressful because everything seems to go wrong, but she said Tuck Everlasting’s opening night was amazing.

“All of the shows were great, and they got better every night,” Rayas said. “This has been my favorite production I’ve been a part of, because of how close and supportive the cast is. It’s such a tight-knit but accepting community, and I know it will continue to get even better.”

Rayas said that being in the ensemble meant creating the atmosphere for the entire show, including during the “Seventeen” number.

“In this scene, we create that atmosphere to show the audience the stakes of the scene,” Rayas said. “[This is] when the antagonist, the Man in the Yellow Suit, finds out Jesse’s family is the family with immortality, which he’d been searching for his whole life.”

Out of the whole production, Rayas said her favorite part of the show is the song “Time.”

“It’s such a beautiful and heartbreaking piece,” she said. “And all of the leads portray the story so well.”

“Time” is from the perspective of Miles Tuck, Jesse’s older brother, who drank the spring water and was left by his wife because she believed his immortality to be a curse.

“So the song tells that story,” Rayas said. “And he talks about how he and the rest of his family who had drank the water were given infinite time, but all it’s done is pass them by.”

In terms of time passing by, Rayas, now a senior, acknowledged Tuck Everlasting is her last ever fall musical at Mac.

“I’m definitely sad about this being my last year,” Rayas said. “I feel like there are so many people I’ve already gotten close with, and I already have to leave. I’m going to miss my friends and the performance opportunities so much once I graduate.”

Caption by Camilla Vandegrift. Photo by Katie Martin.

GRAND FINALE:  Sophomore AJ Brown performs as a part of the ensemble crew of Tuck Everlasting’s second Thursday night performance on Sept. 26. For Brown, the preparation for the show was stressful at times, but in the end it was all worth it.

“It’s definitely been a stress-inducing experience, but it’s been good and productive,” Brown said.

Brown enjoyed the dancing aspect of the show, but he mostly enjoyed getting to meet and interact with new people.

“I loved getting to experience the whole show and connect with more people in different grades,” Brown said.

The musical features several musical numbers, including “Time,” which was Brown’s personal favorite number in the show.

“I loved the message it gave,” Brown said, “and I could relate to Miles losing someone so close to him.”

Brown said he was pleased with how the shows went. There were challenges along the way, but the cast stuck it out together.

“I think the shows went well.” Brown said. “There’s always a few mistakes with different changes in choreo, but overall we did a good job.”

Caption by Sienna Martens. Photo by Eva Sanchez.

AN EVERLASTING GOODBYE: Elora Clarke performs in Tuck Everlasting during the second-week Friday performance on Sept. 25. Even though the close of the show was a bittersweet moment, Clarke is happy she got to enjoy such a great show with her castmates, as it has been one of her favorite productions.

“We all love the show so much, and we were having a tough time saying goodbye to it,” Clarke said. “We became sort of like a family in this show because of how small of a group it was.”

For Clark, the finality of the last show sank in during the song “Time,” as she found it every raw and emotional. 

“That song is so beautiful, and everyone is always crying backstage,” Clarke said. “But on the last day everyone was losing it a bit and while it was sad, I think it brought us closer in a way.”

Caption by Aubrey Macedo. Photo by Sophia Manos.

THE MAN IN THE YELLOW SUIT: Senior Joe Colaleo entertains as The Man in the Yellow Suit during the second Thursday night performance of Tuck Everlasting. Colaleo said he had to shift his perspective in order to deliver a quality performance.

“To get into character, I harness the mentality of a man who has been searching his whole life to find something, and then he finally finds it,” Colaleo said. 

In this particular scene, The Man in the Yellow Suit has just found crucial information that confirms his belief in a family that lives forever with magical eternal water. 

“I was really trying to convey the glee, and absolute happiness The Man in the Yellow Suit feels in this particular moment,” Colaleo said. 

Colaleo’s favorite part in Tuck Everlasting is at the very end of the play for the number,  “Everything’s Golden.” 

“The Man in the Yellow Suit is the most happy, excited and crazy at this moment more than the entire show,” Colaleo said. 

Overall, Colaleo emphasized the connections he made with the cast and crew of the show.

“What I will miss most about this show is becoming The Man in the Yellow Suit each day, and being able to hang out with the amazing cast and crew, to put on an incredible show,” Colaleo said.

Caption by Mira Patel. Photo by Eva Sanchez.

(UNDER) STUDY HARD: During the first Sunday matinee performance of Tuck Everlasting, sophomore Finley McBride (right), an alternate playing Mae Tuck, had her chance to perform the role. In this scene, Mae makes the fateful decision to take out the Man in the Yellow Suit, played by fellow understudy Robin Kulhanek) in order to protect the innocent Winnie Foster (played on Sunday by understudy Paityn Jones).

McBride was not new to the role of alternate, as she played the understudy of JoJo in Seussical. For this performance, McBride’s extra memorization and dedication to the understudy role paid off during the alternate performance. 

“What was hard was keeping the role fresh and memorized as I was running the show as my primary part,” McBride said. “I had to review pretty often as the show got closer.” 

For every musical and play, McCallum dedicates a night to the alternates, to give them a chance to shine and show their work behind the scenes. 

“One benefit of being the alternate is getting to perform something solo onstage,” McBride said. 

With her original role being in the ensemble, McBride was used to performing in small groups during this play, but playing Mae Tuck gave her the chance to showcase her talents in a lead role. Although alternates have the chance to perform their understudy role, it often means they have a lot of work to do, to be able to adequately play both roles. 

“It takes a lot more effort because you are essentially learning the roles of two people,” McBride said. “I didn’t have to practice too much outside of rehearsals because the director did a good job of making sure us alternates got to practice our scenes.”

Caption by Priya Thoppil. Photo by Dave Winter. 

FRIENDS IN THE SHOW AND OUT: During the second Friday performance of Tuck Everlasting, sophomore Delilah Grad and senior Austin Pain perform the scene where the two meet for the first time, a step in the relationship that is key to the show, according to Grad.

“[In the show] we were each other’s first friend,” Grad said. “Prior to this, Winnie has never been allowed to leave her house.”

The relationship of the two characters didn’t just develop in the show; their off-stage friendship grew from the pairing as well.

“This scene was very special because I got to spend it with Austin,” Grad said. “This is our last show together before he goes to college, so it was very bittersweet.”

Throughout the show, Grad was able to understand and relate to Winnie Foster which helped her portray her character. 

“It was an honor to get to share her story with all of the people who came to see the production,” Grad said. “She also was such a joy to play because she reminded me of the best parts of myself, so when I was playing her I really couldn’t have been having a better time.” 

Reflecting on the run of the show as a whole, Grad said it was an amazing experience.

“There were some stressful moments as there always are,” Grad said. “But overall I have to say this has been the most successful, beautiful and joyful production I have ever been a part of.”

Caption by Chloe Lewcock. Photo by Sophia Manos. 

A DELIGHTFUL DANCE: Freshman Gideon Adair performed in the ensemble in Tuck Everlasting and as Angus Tuck on his alternate night. While reflecting upon the show as the performance comes to an end, Adair said it strengthened his connection with the theater community and his confidence on stage. 

Throughout rehearsals the cast remained very close-knit, all working tremendously hard to put on a beautiful show. Adair loved the process of learning the choreography and felt this was due to how good of a teacher, Academy Director Natalie Uehara was.

“My favorite part of producing the show was my castmates, it was just such a wonderful cast, we were all really close to each other,” Adair said.

Adair loved every part of the musical but his absolute favorite was the fair scene. During this scene, Adair performed a duet dance with senior Sophia Rayas.

“My favorite part of the show had to be the fair scene, during which I had a dance part that I thought was super fun,” Adair said.

On his alternate night, Adair got the chance to perform the role of Angus Tuck which he worked tirelessly for as an understudy. The photo shows Adair as Angus singing alongside Fiona Kirsch, who played the role of Angus’s wife Mae Tuck.

Over the rehearsals, Adair enjoyed spending his time working with Joseph Blackwood who played Angus Tuck for seven of the eight performances.

“I was understudying Joseph Blackwood, and he was always so helpful,” Adair said. “I had such a fun and awesome time during my alternate night. I loved getting to perform as Angus Tuck.”

In the end, the musical expressed an important message, which was to appreciate life and all it’s experiences. 

“I feel like the best way to explain the message of Tuck Everlasting is when Angus is talking to Winne and he says, ‘You don’t need to live forever; you need to just live,’” Adair said.

Caption by Tallulah McAuliffe. Photo by Eva Sanchez.

FRIENDS, FUN AND TUCK: For junior Zane Shieh (second from the left), being a part of Tuck Everlasting has not only brought him closer to his castmates and crew, but has also brought up some mixed emotions seeing that this was the last performance together for many senior classmates. 

“I did have to do Tuck because of my major, but I also knew lots of friends that were auditioning and I wanted to work with the seniors that will not be here for long,” Shieh said. 

Because it’s the last performance for a lot of seniors, Shieh says it is a bittersweet feeling when experiencing someone’s last show at McCallum. 

“I feel very sad because all the seniors are so cool, and kind and funny and I think I’m gonna miss them,” Shieh said.

Caption by Sofia Saucedo. Photo by Dave Winter.