Hoogland Performing Arts Education Achievers (grades 9th-12th) present The Phantom of the Opera.
Craig interviews Layne Kreitzinger (Phantom), Evelyn Bernard (Christine) and Vincent Powell (Raoul) about their roles in the upcoming production and their experiences in the Hoogland Education Program.
The Phantom of the Opera tells the story of a masked figure who lurks beneath the catacombs of the Paris Opera House, exercising a reign of terror over all who inhabit it. He falls madly in love with an innocent young soprano, Christine, and devotes himself to creating a new star by nurturing her extraordinary talents and by employing all of the devious methods at his command.
Andrew Lloyd Webber’s enthralling score includes “Think of Me,” “Angel of Music,” “Music of the Night,” “All I Ask of You,” “Masquerade” and the title song.
More information and tickets: Visit the Hoogland Center for the Arts website
Transcribed by AI with human review:
Craig McFarland:
Welcome to Community Voices. I'm your host for today, Craig McFarland, and I'm joined by some wonderful people from the Hoogland Center for the Arts Education Program. They're putting on their production of Phantom of the Opera, which will be happening Jan. 23 through Jan. 25. You can get tickets now at hcfta.org. We're going to introduce them, I'm going to go first to Layne Kretzinger, who is our Phantom of the Opera. How are you doing today, Layne?
Layne Kreitzinger:
I'm doing fairly good. I'm a little tired, but that's It comes with the role.
Craig McFarland:
Yeah. You have been lurking in some underground areas in France, right? As the Phantom of the Opera.
Layne Kreitzinger:
Yeah, pretty much.
Craig McFarland:
Pretty much.
Layne Kreitzinger:
I know my way around.
Craig McFarland:
Absolutely. That's wonderful. We also have Evelyn Barnard, who is playing Christine in Phantom of the Opera. How are you doing today? Are you getting a little bit more rest than Layne is?
Evelyn Barnard:
I'm doing well. Yes, I would say so.
Craig McFarland:
Playing Raul is Vincent Powell. How are you doing today?
Vincent Powell: I'm doing great. Fantastic.
Craig McFarland:
It's great to have all of you here. I should mention that I'm very intimately involved at the Hoogland Center for the Arts. I'm going to be the president of the board this upcoming year. I do want to put that out there as I'm interviewing you. But that also means that I get a chance to really see what goes on in Hoogland Education. Now, Layne, I know you've been involved in the Hoogland Education Program for quite a while. Talk to our audience about what the program is and what you do on a weekly basis in Hoogland Education?
Layne Kreitzinger:
Hoogland Education is a theater education program. We have a weekly class every Saturday where we go over theater basics.
Craig McFarland:
Part of this is that you get to put on a full-fledged production as well.
Layne Kreitzinger:
Yes. One of the main draws is they put on a full-fledged production of a musical every year. They teach you the basics of how to perform in said musical, take little things from your experience in the musical that we're performing, then take those to go out and audition for other shows.
Craig McFarland:
How many of you were involved last year in Hadestown?
Evelyn Barnard:
Everyone.
Craig McFarland:
All of you. I will say that for the audience that didn't have a chance to see Hadestown, it truly was not presented as though it was a lot of high school aged people getting on stage and doing this production. You did a wonderful job in it. It was a high caliber production. That's because we nurture a lot of that. Evelyn, talk to me a bit about your journey in Hoogland Education, how long you've been doing it, and your experiences in the program.
Evelyn Barnard:
My journey with Hoogland Education started when I was in 8th grade when I did Mean Girls. It kicked off my career in Springfield community theatre. Then, I auditioned for Muni, I auditioned for Hadestown, I started auditioning for more community productions. It got me started into the community and pushing myself to be better. Now I'm in Phantom.
Craig McFarland:
Vincent, I need to ask about your experiences in Hoogland Education as well.
Vincent Powell:
I joined last year. I had been doing theater outside of Hoogland Education for a while before, but I realized I had a lot of friends that were doing it. Why not try this? It was a lot of fun. The first show was Hadestown, which was a great first show for me. It kicked off what would become Phantom for this year.
Craig McFarland:
What was it about the theater that made you decide to get involved in this as an extracurricular activity?
Vincent Powell:
I realized I was fairly good at it when I did it before. I might as well do something else that I would be guaranteed in a show, but I would not necessarily be a lead in. It would be another chance for me to grow in my abilities.
Craig McFarland:
So coming back to you, Layne, this a pretty extraordinary opportunity that you have. This show has been beloved by audiences since the 1980s. I believe it's one of the longest running, if not the longest running show on Broadway. It has never been open or available to community theaters, meaning that the licensing houses don't allow community theaters to do this production. However, they are allowing what they're calling youth productions, but this isn't really a youth production. This is the full show that you're getting to do, and you're really the first person in all of Springfield that gets to portray the Phantom from Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera. Talk to me about that responsibility but also talk to me about the experience of being able to have this be the first production in town for this wonderful show.
Layne Kreitzinger:
When I got the role, I was completely in awe. I wasn't expecting to get it. Now I have the responsibility, I know I need to absolutely kill this role because this is the first time it's been done in Springfield. It's a lot of responsibility, but it's a great responsibility to have. This is definitely the biggest role I've ever gotten the privilege to play, and I'm so grateful to have the privilege and the talent to try to portray the role properly.
The experience has gone phenomenally. I've done my own work outside of rehearsals. I've been studying most, if not all songs every single day, trying to figure out the correct way for me specifically to portray a very complex and heavily flawed character. It's a challenge, but it's incredibly fun, incredibly rewarding. I don't think I will ever get a cooler experience in a very long time.
Craig McFarland:
Evelyn, speaking of complex characters, you're being asked in this role of Christine to be able to be not only an excellent actress, but also a phenomenal dancer because she's coming from the chorus, and you get to see a little bit of that dancing. The range that you need for this particular role vocally is in the stratosphere. Andrew Lloyd Webber wrote this thinking of Sarah Brightman when she first portrayed this and has said in interviews that Sarah is his muse. This is how he wrote Christine into this musical. Talk to me about your experiences getting to play this specific character.
Evelyn Barnard:
Well, it all started for me with Phantom when I was in 6th grade when my mom showed me the movie. Ever since then, I've been totally obsessed. When I found out that the next show was Phantom of the Opera, I was absolutely ecstatic. I got a singing teacher. I worked so hard to get the role. When I finally got it, I was so emotional and so happy. The longer I've had it, the more complex I realize the character actually is. Originally, I thought, she was pretty weak, but... going through the show, she had so much strength and she was such a misunderstood character, especially by, Rawler Phantom and everyone else in the show. I feel like nobody really understood her and it's such a blessing to portray her at Hoogland.
Craig McFarland:
Vincent, you get to be the almost antagonist to the antagonist because we think of the Phantom as truly the antagonist of the show. You get to be the person that gets to go up against him a couple of different times throughout this production. Tell the audience a bit about your character.
Vincent Powell:
This show is most definitely the hardest one I've ever had to do. The characters in the show are complex and so emotional that you have to really connect with your character. It's been pretty hard for me because I've never played a character like this before. It's very different for me. I think the directors are doing a very good job of telling us what to do and getting us in character. All the rehearsals are very in depth and we are doing great.
Craig McFarland:
This is an education program, so you're supposed to be learning while you're doing this. It isn't necessarily like a community theater production where it's a great time. You're having a good time together. You're learning the music, certainly, but you're supposed to be learning about the craft of theater as well. Evelyn, talk to me about your directors and the other staff and the volunteers that are coming in together to put this production together.
Evelyn Barnard:
Throughout the year, we will have people come talk to us. We had a dialect coach come in, Kenny Kendall, and throughout the year we have Ryle Frey, who is our acting coordinator, come in and explain the show to us in great depth and make us all second think all of our characters in the best way. We all make different acting decisions after listening to him talk. I learned so much through everything that the director shared.
Craig McFarland:
Who are the directors for this show, Layne?
Layne Kreitzinger:
The directors for this show are Craig Williams and Molly Schunicht. Craig is more involved with the blocking aspect and what the characters should be doing on stage. Molly helps with that too, but she also heavily helps us with vocals and instructing us.
Craig McFarland:
This is a very vocal heavy show, right? You're probably doing things with your voice that you don't, aren't normally asked to do. You are all high schoolers, right?
Layne Kreitzinger:
Yes.
Craig McFarland:
You're not normally asked to sing these crazy arias that Christine is singing or other different harmonies of a song like "All I Ask of You." It is definitely a vocally taxing show. Is that right?
Layne Kreitzinger:
Definitely the most difficult show I've ever had to do vocally and vocals are my strong suit. I also want to mention Anna Maisenbacher, who is our lovely choreographer, who's putting in all these complex ballet dances. I don't think any of us are ballet trained at all. She's picking the people who she thinks can work with the ballet-like choreo, perfectly slotting it in, and choreographing it to perfection.
Craig McFarland:
And Layne, You explained to us at the beginning of this interview your experiences, but can you go further? Why do you continue to be involved in something like Hoogland Education?
Layne Kreitzinger:
I started Hoogland Ed the same year Evelyn did with Mean Girls. Ever since then, I kept doing it over and over because it was another opportunity for me to improve on my established talents, but also find new talents, find new enjoyment in different aspects of theater. I met so many wonderful people throughout doing it who come back the next year. It's another excuse to hang out and annoy the directors by me talking to them 24-7.
Craig McFarland:
Evelyn, what keeps bringing you back to Hoogland Education?
Evelyn Barnard:
The people there. I love the community and I feel every time we do a show, it keeps getting bigger. Like when we did Hadestown, it was a really great show. I knew the next year would be even better because our shows keep getting better. I love the directors. It helps me, helps keep me busy and learning throughout the school year. It gives me opportunities like the gala, which I wouldn't have had if I hadn't done it.
Craig McFarland:
You say the gala, Susan Egan was part of the gala. Did you get a chance to sing with her?
Evelyn Barnard:
It was so fun. I got to be one of the Muses. I was a soprano Muse. It was crazy having her walk in and randomly start talking. It was just crazy. We were all so starstruck.
Craig McFarland:
To sing that song that she popularized in the animated film Hercules with her on stage is a pretty cool experience. Evelyn, talk to me about your favorite moment in the show because you don't get to leave stage much. You were on there the whole time. Is there a moment, either a song that you get to sing or just a moment in the story that you really appreciate?
Evelyn Barnard:
I like the song "Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again" because it shows her rage at her father who passed away when she was young in the Phantom. She's having a hard time connecting the dots because for the longest time she thought that the Phantom was her father. You see her gentle side, her happy side, but you also see the side that doesn't want to put up with this or doesn't want to accept it.
Craig McFarland:
Vincent, what is your favorite moment in the Phantom of the Opera?
Vincent Powell:
My favorite moment in the show is the very last scene, and it's this huge, powerful, a trio of me, the Phantom, and Christine. The vocals hit me. It's very hard as well, and we're doing a great job of it. The first rehearsal we did blocking. That scene was my most favorite rehearsal and it was really fun as well.
Craig McFarland:
Lyne, favorite moment?
Layne Kreitzinger:
My favorite moment is either what Vinny just said, but since he already just said that I'm going to say something different. I would say Music of the Night because that is the climax to the Phantoms introduction. It's dramatic. It's honestly crazy. He's basically hypnotizing Christine during the entire song. It's a wonderful song. That was the first song I learned to prepare myself for the role. It's a phenomenal scene. I love that scene so much.
Craig McFarland:
It is a great song. It's one of those huge Broadway musical numbers, and you get to perform it for the first time in the city of Springfield, which is a really cool opportunity for all of you. The Hoogland Education program is putting on the Phantom of the Opera Jan. 23 through Jan. 25. They have two shows on Saturday. Good luck, Evelyn, with those high notes two times on Saturday. Tickets are available at hcfta.org. Do any of you have just a final message to leave us?
Layne Kreitzinger:
I heavily recommend going to see the show because everybody involved has worked incredibly hard. The rehearsal process is going phenomenally for everybody. You want to see it because it's a phenomenal show. We're all doing phenomenally. Why would you not want to see it?
Craig McFarland:
Why would you not want to see it? That's right. T
hank you all for stopping in today, have a wonderful show, and break a leg.
Layne Kreitzinger:
Thank you.
