Each day leading up to the announcement of Paradigm High School’s fall musical, theatre director Alyse Shattuck

would eliminate one of those that were posted outside of her classroom, until there was one. Now the music from the show is played during class passing times.

“Hello, Dolly!” will be performed at 7 p.m., Nov. 21-23 and again on Nov. 25. There also will be a 2 p.m., Nov. 23 performance. Shows will be performed at the school, 11577 S.
3600 West. 

Tickets are $12 at the door, or they can be ordered ahead by calling the school at 801-676-1018. Senior and student tickets are $10 and a family ticket for immediate family members is $35. There also will be a 1 p.m. tea party where patrons can meet and take photos with the cast, do an activity and have priority seating at the matinee show. That package cost is $16.

“‘Hello, Dolly!’ has really awesome chorus parts and I have a big group of kids who want to participate this year,” Shattuck said. “They’re getting to sing and dance and be on stage a lot and I knew I had lots of talented voices for my leads.”

In fact, she knew that’s one of the hardest decisions as a director she has to make, and she knew she would have some students face disappointment when they weren’t cast as a lead.

“The kids here have a great attitude; we support each other. We don’t bully, we don’t talk bad about people. Once they get past that initial finding out that their name wasn’t in the spot they wanted it, they’re supportive,” Shattuck said. “This cast is having fun. They’re cracking me up, and they’re working hard.”

Thirty-two of the 400 students enrolled at the school make up the cast and a dozen more work on the tech crew under the direction of Melanie Kamauu. Stephanie Cole is the choreographer, Sara Rasmussen is the set designer and senior Bethany Rasmussen is the student director. 

“‘Hello, Dolly!’ is a different style of show than we’ve done,” Shattuck said. “It’s an old-style musical with big choruses and showstopper numbers. It’s set in New York at the turn of the century, which makes it a lot of fun with staging options. We use the entire auditorium, all the way to the back, not just the stage. When people come for the first time to our musicals, they’re pleasantly surprised at the talent and the production we put on. Then, they often return year after year.”

This classical Broadway musical, which is based on Thornton Wilder’s “The Matchmaker” and was the first film released on home video in 1977, features Dolly, a bold, widowed socialite turned matchmaker. As she helps her clients, she tries to cover up her own secret romantic designs. At the core of the musical is the message: “It is never too late for happiness.”  

“This is our first old-time musical, so the kids are learning and having a ball with those great showstopper numbers,” she said, adding that recent musicals have been more modern and familiar to students.

Shattuck said performing arts classes provide students more than just typical courses.

“Musical theatre, along with choir and band, are unique classes because they’re some of the only classes where we see kids year to year. They get chances to work together and build those friendships. They also learn how to schedule and prioritize their time because they have to keep their classwork up on top of their rehearsals,” she said.

It also provides students with musical talents, a community within the school and an outlet to perform.

“They get a unique kind of joy, not just in the applause from the audience. They rehearse a lot, and they practice at home, and they get to see how good it feels to work hard on something, and then get to perform it and feel good about what you did,” she said. “They also learn about the importance of supporting one another, and how it doesn’t matter whether you are the lead or third tree from the left, you’re out there and you’re giving your best and you’re supporting your castmates and they
understand that.”

Shattuck said the more she directs, the more she realizes the importance of what she does.

“My entire goal doesn’t matter where they’re performing, it doesn’t matter how big the group is, or what kind of material I have, or what kind of stage I have. The No. 1 goal for me is that my cast works hard, and I try to teach them things along the way, not just about their musical, but we learn about theatre,” she said. “I want them to walk away from this experience feeling that ‘this was one of the hardest things I ever did, but I am so proud of myself for what I was just part of, and I’m really glad I did it.’”

In the spring, the junior high students will be performing a yet-to-be-announced full-scale musical. λ