Category: Arts & Entertainment

by Grace Rushmer ’26

On Saturday, December 16th, The Kirby Center for the Creative Arts welcomed the Dance Theater of Wilkes-Barre to the stage for their annual production of the Nutcracker.

This traditional Christmas ballet demonstrates the magic of the holiday season as it follows Clara through her dreams of frolicking sweets and an array of dances that could be seen in many countries. The classical repertoire is performed by professionals and students alike, all throughout the world. This year, this production hosted many of Wyoming Seminary’s current students and alumni including Robert Zaloga ‘20  and Lucy Lew ‘24.

The studio’s Nutcracker and numerous other shows allow opportunities for young dancers as well as more advanced students to perform in front of an audience. “Having the opportunity to dance on the KCCA stage was such an incredible experience,” says Lew. Here at Sem, the performing arts department works incredibly hard behind the scenes of every performance.

With the help of Floyd Bussie, Wyoming Seminary Technical Director, the Nutcracker production was brought to life. “I am so thankful for all of the help we had here at Sem, especially from Mr. Bussie for all of his help with lighting and sound,” remarks Lew.

The arts are an extremely important part of life at Sem, and it is so amazing to see such a wonderful audience outcome coming to support this production. Putting on a dance show requires countless hours of rehearsals, costuming and logistical planning. The dedication and hard work of the staff and dancers at the Dance Theater of Wilkes-Barre didn’t go unnoticed. Dancing on the KCCA stage allowed this company to put on their production as well as demonstrate how important it is to celebrate the performing arts, especially during the holiday season.

By Abby Ryu ‘26

After a short exciting spirit week, Friday evening marked Wyoming Seminary music department’s annual Arts Showcase in the Kirby Center for Creative Arts (KCCA). The audience experienced a wide variety of performances: from complicated classical pieces to fun dances.

The evening started off with a preview of this year’s fall musical, Guys and Dolls. In the scene presented, Nathan Detroit (Benecio Carpentier ‘24) argues with his long-term fiancée, Adelaide (Lily Roberti ‘24), about her strong desire to get married and his gambling habits, when she finds out about his crap game from her friend Mimi (Molly Kopetchny ‘24). As the argument ends, Adelaide, left to wallow alone about the lack of her wedding, sings popular, and fittingly-titled, showtune “Adelaide’s Lament.” The three senior cast members truly wowed the audience with their performance, leaving them looking forward to the full performance, which will be presented in the KCCA on November 4, 5, and 6. 

Following the musical preview, the string ensemble performed three pieces: modern lyrical piece Autumn Vows, by Susan H. Day, along with well-known classical pieces by Johannes Brahms, Hungarian Dance no 5 and Hungarian Dance no 6. Although they were perhaps more challenging, avid string ensemble member and cello player Hannah Salesky ‘26 enjoyed playing Hungarian Dance no 5 and Hungarian Dance no 6: “I really liked the numerous stops and tempo changes that required players to be playing close attention. It sounded really cool when it worked.”

The SEM dance company performed two selections for the audience to enjoy. First, senior Molly Kopetchny performed the re-structured solo-version of her self-choreographed modern lyrical piece to “Stay Gold.” Senior Lucy Lew, junior Abby Lott, and freshman Grace Rushmer followed with an up-beat tap dance to “Fireball,” choreographed by tap teacher Raphael Cooper. The audience was left thoroughly impressed by both pieces, although in different ways. Kopetchny’s graceful emotion was intensely moving while the sparkling energy of “Fireball” emitted thrills of excitement.

The night was wrapped up with two pieces by the Chorale. The first, titled “Shule Aroon,” is an arrangement of an Irish folk tune, sung from the perspective of a woman lamenting a lover who has gone to war. The second, titled “Hakuna Mungu Kama Wewe” is a celebratory Swahili spiritual about the love of god. New member Chloe Caputo ‘26 specifically noted “Even with newer members like myself and it being early in the school year, we were able to put together two arrangements that ended up going well.”

By Benecio Carpentier ‘24

Theater season is in full swing, so it only makes sense that SEM Drama is on the homestretch for November’s performance of ‘Guys and Dolls.” The iconic Broadway show, based on the short stories of American writer Damon Runyon, has been performed across the world since its 1950 opening run. The classic show about New York gamblers and dancing damsels hasn’t been performed at Wyoming Seminary since 1996. 

“Guys and Dolls” follows Benecio Carpentier ‘24 as gambling ringmaster Nathan Detroit challenging big-time better Sky Masterson, played by David Getz ‘24, to a bet over Sky’s ability to woo conservative mission worker Sarah Brown, portrayed by Rachel Lewis ‘25. As Sky becomes stuck between his betting ways and his love for Sarah, Nathan struggles with his own romance with ditzy dancer Adelaide, performed by Lily Roberti ‘24, and his reluctance to marry her after fourteen years. 

Supporting cast members include Ari Froelich ‘24 as Nicely-Nicely Johnson, Michael Vodzak ‘24 as Benny Southstreet, Kathryn Eidam ‘27 as Big Jule, Abby Whitby ‘24 as Major Abernathy, Chloe Caputo ‘26 as General Cartwright, Harry Xu ‘25 as Rusty Charlie, and Matias Tollinen ‘25 as Harry the Horse. The show’s soundtrack, composed by legend Frank Loesser, includes timeless songs like “Fugue for Tinhorns”, “Adelaide’s Lament”, and “Sit Down, You’re Rockin the Boat.”

Abby Whitby ‘24 gave her thoughts on how different the musical experience for “Guys and Dolls” has been compared to last year’s “Bright Star”; Whitby said, “…going through the big ensemble numbers in the first rehearsals was good, because we could get it down easier, the stuff that was easier to learn.” Technical Director Floyd Bussie, Jr. worked in tandem with Director Jason Sherry ‘91 to design and construct the set pieces for the show’s Broadway setting.