The Upper School fall musical this year, Urinetown: The Musical, will feature an all-student five-member pit orchestra behind the actors for the first time since 2017.
The pit orchestra, a small band that creates music for live theater, could change both the audience and actor experience. According to Stephanie Kyung Sun Walters, Drama Teacher and Director of the musical, the introduction of the pit orchestra will allow the actors more creative freedom, making the experience better for the audience. During the musical, the pit orchestra will be able to adapt their tempo and phrasing to the live performance, allowing actors to enjoy artistic freedoms. “That’s the best part about live theater is that it’s live in front of you,” Stephanie said. “If we wanted to be the same every night, we’d be making movies.”
The pit faces the challenge of limited rehearsals together, and the music for the band is challenging, but Ryan Peteraf, FSS Choir Director and the conductor of the pit orchestra, believes it is possible to learn, and worth it. “There is something special about creating a musical as a team where everyone works together, including pit, actors, and stage crew, ” Ryan said. “It is a monumental task that is very rewarding to see it to fruition.”
The pit orchestra rehearses separately from the rest of the production, and at some point during Tech Week, they will play together in an event called a “Sitzprobe”.
David Ryan ‘26, Student Director of the pit orchestra, is thrilled to be a part of this project. “I am excited to be playing music, and a sort of music that I wouldn’t normally be playing consistently in an organized fashion.” He thinks that while it may be difficult to get people to come on time, as they continue, people will become more enthusiastic. He is apprehensive about the prospect of members of the pit orchestra having small roles in the musical, an idea which Stephanie had inquired about. David said, “Stephanie asked me to do some consistent speaking roles. I said no to it, it’s not a part of the commitment that I’m really excited about.”
Sam Barth ‘26, a member of the pit orchestra, confirmed what Stephanie said about the advantage of a live pit orchestra; unlike David, Sam looks forward to the opportunity to act, saying, “I think it’s cool that pit band members might have a line or two in the musical.”
Urinetown is a musical about the dangers of ecological mismanagement, corruption, and shortsighted thinking. The musical will be performed on November 20th-22nd. Stay tuned for updates and additional information in the FSS bulletin.
Disclaimer: The author of this article is a member of the musical.
