The RMHS Drama Club is excited to present their first show of the year, titled Zombie Prom, on November 12.

The show, directed by Mrs. Cunha, originally ran as an off-Broadway production. Taking place in the atomic 50’s, the audience is introduced to the school of Enrico Fermi High School, where everything is perfect and going as according to plan. Here, the perfect pretty-girl senior, Toffee, falls in love with the new bad-boy on the block, Jonny Warner. When their relationship goes public, this destined romance between Toffee and Jonny becomes the controversy in a nuclear plotline bound to rock the stage. But the unfamiliarity of this play to the drama club and the audience, on top of the side-effects of the recent Pandemic, would presumably make this show difficult to pull off. Despite the odds, students and staff are pouring their efforts and heart into making, as Michele McCue (’22), the Vice President of the Reading Drama put it, “The best show ever!!”

To make this play possible, every member of the Reading Drama Club has been practicing, with a rehearsal every day of the school week to bring together a multitude of vocal and acoustical music genres with immersive storytelling of an extraordinary world and amazing story. It is a rigorous and difficult process which requires the constant dedication of actors, crew, and set workers, especially freshman and sophomores who never had experience with drama productions on this scale due to the recent Pandemic. The Drama’s staff have taken notice of the hard work.  Mrs. Cunha said that of the students, “They aren’t taking any moment for granted. They are working harder than any students I have seen before.” 

Not only are there students making praise-worthy efforts with their acting, Mr. Mosher, the new choir director at RMHS has, according to him, “Dove feet first” into all the workings of the arts at the school, including the fall show. As summarized, he feels he has been able to build a very strong and positive relationship with the students of the choir and Drama, especially because he sees many of them across both organizations. He, like Mrs. Cunha, thinks that the Drama is “doing a good job” and that they’re “bringing a lot of energy” to the table by “owning their craft” and building a whole world in the show through which they allow their characters to communicate.

From the sound of it, the Reading Drama Club members, despite the difficulties stacked against them, are working like it’s any year to bring the best to the table for the people of Reading, with the help of their hard-working advisors. They have set the expectations high for the audience, and they encourage a huge turn-out at their premiere on November 12, 2021.

As Mrs. Cunha put it, “Come to the games, come to the competitions, come to the shows!” Reading has reopened, and we’re ready for an audience again!