Updated June 18th
On March 13th, a little more than three months ago, the Coronavirus caused the United States to pause. March 13th was supposed to be opening night for Matilda, the Joliet West High School Spring Musical. We were stunned, but we were able to push back our date to May 23rd.
In turn, May came and went without a respite to enable Matilda to be performed. Again, we postponed hoping to perform in late June or early July. If we couldn’t have an audience, we were prepared to film and stream.
Now, as July approaches, it is with heavy heart that I share with you that we must officially cancel the performance of Matilda. We have simply run out of time.
On behalf of the cast, crew, pit orchestra, and creative team, we would like to thank our patrons for your patience. I received many encouraging messages, people hopeful and desiring to still see the show, willing to wait with us. To our longtime supporters, thank you. To our first-time patrons, we certainly hope you give us the opportunity in the future to entertain you.
***
Moving forward, we hope to return to normalcy in 2021. One difficulty we must overcome is the financial loss of Matilda. Our musicals are funded through the ticket proceeds of the previous year. For those who may be comfortable not refunding part or all of your tickets, this would be extremely helpful to the program.
If you do need a refund for tickets purchased online, please use the link below to begin the process. We are able to refund the cost of the tickets, minus ticket agency fees. Refunds will appear back to the purchasing credit card in 5-10 business days. If you are not requesting a refund for your tickets, no action needs to take place. https://forms.gle/T5tq5a99Aja4ri7m8
If you would like to donate to the musical program at Joliet West High School, you can do so using this link:
https://tinyurl.com/JTWestMusicDonation
***
Finally, there are some glimpses into the show you have not been able to see, we would very much like to share them with you. Two scenes have been recreated at home, reimagined for your entertainment.
In this short, famous scene, the cruel headmistress, Miss Trunchbull, a former Olympic Hammer-throwing champion (played by Jaxon Rees) decides she does not appreciate the pigtail braids of Amanda Thripp (played by Cheridan Matan) and Trunchbull decides to hammer-throw the young girl off the playground. https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=246133896614380
In the second short scene, Matilda’s first form class (think Kindergarten) has their first day of school. It is here that Matilda (played by Jemma Newby) first demonstrates her prodigious learning ability to her teacher, Miss Honey (played by Elena Crino). We reimagined this scene as though Matilda’s first day of school took place via zoom. https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=883705958790109
Additionally, Elena and Jemma were slated to compete for the 2020 Illinois High School Music Theater Awards (IHSMTA) from Broadway in Chicago. Like the musical, this competition was canceled, however, Elena and Jemma both were featured on social media by Broadway in Chicago as part of their #aroundbroadwayin80days campaign. You can watch their highlight reels using the links below.
Elena’s Video: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=580717965893449
Jemma’s Video: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=545775669421880
On May 21st, the Vocal Music Department had its annual award banquet. This year’s celebration took place via zoom. This video was the presentation of the 2020 Musical Award and shows many pictures from the dress rehearsal (credit to Jennifer Heim). https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=3124373230991348
In the playbill, parents often post ads to celebrate their son/daughter’s performance. This has been automated into a video that you can watch here: https://youtu.be/Eku3xxxQWMo
We also are very grateful to our advertising sponsors, please support them! They are featured in this video: https://www.facebook.com/lklima/videos/10221699584254750/
To view the entire playbill, click here: https://www.playbillder.com/show/vip/Joliet_West_High_School/2020/Matilda_70568
On March 13th, a little more than three months ago, the Coronavirus caused the United States to pause. March 13th was supposed to be opening night for Matilda, the Joliet West High School Spring Musical. We were stunned, but we were able to push back our date to May 23rd.
In turn, May came and went without a respite to enable Matilda to be performed. Again, we postponed hoping to perform in late June or early July. If we couldn’t have an audience, we were prepared to film and stream.
Now, as July approaches, it is with heavy heart that I share with you that we must officially cancel the performance of Matilda. We have simply run out of time.
On behalf of the cast, crew, pit orchestra, and creative team, we would like to thank our patrons for your patience. I received many encouraging messages, people hopeful and desiring to still see the show, willing to wait with us. To our longtime supporters, thank you. To our first-time patrons, we certainly hope you give us the opportunity in the future to entertain you.
***
Moving forward, we hope to return to normalcy in 2021. One difficulty we must overcome is the financial loss of Matilda. Our musicals are funded through the ticket proceeds of the previous year. For those who may be comfortable not refunding part or all of your tickets, this would be extremely helpful to the program.
If you do need a refund for tickets purchased online, please use the link below to begin the process. We are able to refund the cost of the tickets, minus ticket agency fees. Refunds will appear back to the purchasing credit card in 5-10 business days. If you are not requesting a refund for your tickets, no action needs to take place. https://forms.gle/T5tq5a99Aja4ri7m8
If you would like to donate to the musical program at Joliet West High School, you can do so using this link:
https://tinyurl.com/JTWestMusicDonation
***
Finally, there are some glimpses into the show you have not been able to see, we would very much like to share them with you. Two scenes have been recreated at home, reimagined for your entertainment.
In this short, famous scene, the cruel headmistress, Miss Trunchbull, a former Olympic Hammer-throwing champion (played by Jaxon Rees) decides she does not appreciate the pigtail braids of Amanda Thripp (played by Cheridan Matan) and Trunchbull decides to hammer-throw the young girl off the playground. https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=246133896614380
In the second short scene, Matilda’s first form class (think Kindergarten) has their first day of school. It is here that Matilda (played by Jemma Newby) first demonstrates her prodigious learning ability to her teacher, Miss Honey (played by Elena Crino). We reimagined this scene as though Matilda’s first day of school took place via zoom. https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=883705958790109
Additionally, Elena and Jemma were slated to compete for the 2020 Illinois High School Music Theater Awards (IHSMTA) from Broadway in Chicago. Like the musical, this competition was canceled, however, Elena and Jemma both were featured on social media by Broadway in Chicago as part of their #aroundbroadwayin80days campaign. You can watch their highlight reels using the links below.
Elena’s Video: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=580717965893449
Jemma’s Video: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=545775669421880
On May 21st, the Vocal Music Department had its annual award banquet. This year’s celebration took place via zoom. This video was the presentation of the 2020 Musical Award and shows many pictures from the dress rehearsal (credit to Jennifer Heim). https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=3124373230991348
In the playbill, parents often post ads to celebrate their son/daughter’s performance. This has been automated into a video that you can watch here: https://youtu.be/Eku3xxxQWMo
We also are very grateful to our advertising sponsors, please support them! They are featured in this video: https://www.facebook.com/lklima/videos/10221699584254750/
To view the entire playbill, click here: https://www.playbillder.com/show/vip/Joliet_West_High_School/2020/Matilda_70568
