Schools

Head Over to Plum High School for Some 'Sweet Charity'

Plum High School students will present this year's musical, "Sweet Charity," this week.

It was a beautiful day outside on Saturday, but the musical cast spent their afternoon in the auditorium perfecting their upcoming show.

This week, the students will present "Sweet Charity," a musical revolving around Charity Valentine, a taxi dancer at the Fandango Ballroom in New York City. Charity, an eternal optimist despite her bad luck with men, befriends Oscar Lindquist and they fall in love. But Charity's profession could get in the way of their romance.

"Oscar is a tax accountant who is very shy and socially awkward," said senior Jon Andrew, who plays Oscar. "He hasn't found anyone to love and then he finds Charity. You really get to see the conflict he faces throughout the show."

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Andrew, his co-star senior Alexa Anderson—she plays Charity—and the rest of the musical's cast, crew and pit have been preparing for the show since January.

This is Anderson's first lead role.

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"I've felt a little bit of pressure," she said. "I'm a dancer and I perform, so I knew what to expect. I was prepared, but it's still nerve-wracking."

Andrew has had leading roles since his sophomore year, but he still puts a lot of effort into getting into character.

"I put everything else out of my head and put myself in Oscar's shoes," he said.

Anderson said she had to work on perfecting her New York accent, but getting into Charity's character simply means acting goofy before getting on stage.

"She always pulls herself back together no matter what happens," Anderson said.

The show will be on the Plum High School stage Thursday to Saturday, March 22 to 24 at 7 p.m. To reserve tickets, contact Erin Morris at 412-795-4880, ext. 8221. The cost is $8 per reserved seat.

"I'm excited for the audience to see it," Andrew said. "It's absolutely hysterical."

Anderson agreed.

"Charity is supposed to be lovable," she said. "I hope the audience falls in love with her."


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