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Luca Campanelli went from the shadows to the spotlight for the “Boonton Takes Broadway” show.
Campanelli, typically part of the lighting or sound crew, made his debut as a performer on Friday, May 15 singing “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You” from “Jersey Boys.”
According to producer/director Mrs. Oliveri, Campanelli was “phenomenal.”
“Luca was so excited during ‘All Shook Up’ and then wanted to audition for a show,” Oliveri said. “It turns out he was a great performer. He was dancing, too. He killed it.”
Being in front of an audience for the first time made Campanelli, who joined drama club while in seventh grade, a bit nervous.
“The weeks leading up to the show I was nervous about forgetting my lines so I just practiced until it was second nature,” he said. “Before my act, my friends gave me words of encouragement and knowing that I had people supporting me on and offstage, I just went for the best that I could in the moment.”
Campanelli, in his own words, tends to have “insane amounts of energy,” so performing seemed like the next logical step in his young theater journey. After receiving encouragement from fellow drama club members Samantha Tracy and Gabe Muniz, he decided to try “Boonton Takes Broadway” for “fun and to get a feel of what stage life is like for the first time.”
The song he sang had no personal meaning for Campanelli. He simply heard it on the radio and in films and chose it because it was in his range.
Dancing was inspired by Campanelli’s desire to capture an audience.
“I have had no experience in the dancing field at all,” he said. “The whole thing was improvised but it felt good to just be whimsical on stage with people I could feel safe with watching me.”
Campanelli is the first in his family to be in drama club. His older sisters, Ornella and Carmella, participated in GSA and were on the Black Team.
The show business bug, apparently, has bitten Campanelli hard. Since he’s already done behind-the-scenes work and now felt the heat of the spotlight, he feels that he’ll continue being a part of theater in the future.
“It was a thrilling experience that I have never truly felt anywhere else and it was marvelous,” Campanelli said. “I am still 50-50 on whether I want to do lighting or not after next year. I want to attempt being a member of the cast. Over my time, I think I could finalize what I want to do for the rest of my high school career.”
Another talented freshman, Shannon Koba, did a tap dance to “9 to 5.” It was her first time taking the stage alone.
Koba is a very experienced dancer, having taken lesson for 12 years at Dance works in Denville. She has been in recitals since she was 3 and devotes 10 hours per week, including working with younger children, to her passion.
“Recitals have certainly helped me understand the workings of a show and to feel comfortable on a stage but I was always part of a group for those performances,” she said. “Performing a solo was a new and challenging experience.”
Koba, who plays flute and piccolo in the school band and is a member of the pep band and drama club, chose the song from the play based on the 1980 Dolly Parton film because she already had performed to it. However, she put her own spin on it.
“I love most musical theater music so picking a song was hard!” Koba said. “I remembered I had performed a group piece to ‘9 to 5’ as part of my studio’s Moving Company, a volunteer group that performs at assisted living facilities and nursing homes throughout Morris County in the winter.
“The challenge was to use my own original choreography and not just repeat what was familiar. I enjoyed turning it into more of a story piece than what we had done before.”
Misty Copeland is her favorite dancer and she loves to watch the stars from old Hollywood movie musicals. Koba plans to continue dancing in the future and would consider taking it to the professional level if the opportunity presented itself.
Koba said she “was excited to be back on the BHS stage.”
“I was happy with how I performed and I hope to be able to do it again,” she said.
Declan Mills, Kent Burbridge, Maxwell Lang and RJ Harodetsky did an instrumental performance of “St. Jimmy” from Green Day’s rock musical “American Idiot.”
Burbridge, a senior, had never performed in a public setting before. It turned out that he enjoyed everything about the experience.
“I usually just play by myself,” said Burbridge, a self-taught bass player. “It was a gasp of fresh air. It was really fun and exciting and I got over my fear of a live audience. It was nice to express ourselves and do something from a Broadway show.”
Mills, the drummer, chose the song because he wanted something fast paced.
“I thought it would be fun,” said Mills, who also plays guitar and bass. “I grew up on Green Day and I am a fan of the show ‘American Idiot.'”
Mills has some experience as a performer so he was the one who helped Burbridge deal with his jitters.
“I was brutally honest with him,” Mills recalled. “I said it may not go well but no one is gonna know, so it’s okay. Kent was way more nervous than Max, though.”
“As the person who knew the song the best, I am doubtful at all that it was good. I would say our continuous practice and helping each other with our parts made it the best that it could be with the time we had. It wasn’t anywhere near perfect but, for how much we did, I am proud of how it came out.”
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