Foley Production of 42nd Street has a Heavy Dose of Robotics

By Emily Eisenhauer

When starry-eyed Peggy Sawyer played by Mackenzie Kopf  comes to make her name in New York City for this year’s Bishop Foley production of 42nd Street, her co-star will be Aidan Darmetko from the Foley Freeze design team.

And he won’t be alone on stage, or behind the curtain, among Freeze teammates. Caroline Sharbough of the Driver Station team is a lead singer. Emily Eisenhauer of PR is a dancer. Nico Toppi is helping run the lights and sound. The cast looks shiny with Claire Larkins work on makeup crew. All told, more than 20 robotics team members will take time off from getting ready for their first competition to help put on the annual play.

“My life is non-stop, I go from school, to rehearsal, to robotics and love every second of it.” Says Aidan Darmetko.

An important part of the Bishop Foley experience is making sure that students have time and support to pursue multiple activities – such as sports, drama, art or robotics – rather than being restricted to just one interest. The variety is important as they get ready for college and also helps them prepare for a better work-life balance as adults.

 The play 42nd Street, a musical about a small town girl from Allentown, Pennsylvania adapting to the ways of show-biz in her breakout role in a new Broadway show. The show is set in the 1930s in New York right in the middle of the Great Depression, so the Broadway show’s cast becomes overjoyed at the idea of a job in the arts and theatre. The play, which has a cast of about 40 students, will start at 7:30 p.m. on March 8 and March 9 at the Lamphere High School auditorium.

The Foley Freeze students participate in a variety of roles in the production. Several work on the technical crew manipulating the light and sound effects. Some are stage managers who manage the cast and crew backstage and ensure no one misses their cues. Most of the students involved have general roles in the ensemble on stage dancing and singing.