Recently, GNA students Tonya Vahey and Abbey Zegarski took part in The Music Box’s production of Footloose the Musical. The show ran for three weekends. Seven out of nine shows were completely sold out. In fact, they were not originally supposed perform for the third weekend, but it was added because the demand for tickets was so high.

Auditions for the show were held in Swoyersville in the middle of July, and rehearsals started at the end of the month. With opening night not very far away, the actors spent long hours in the theater perfecting their performance. It was exhausting, but all of their hard work paid off. There’s no greater reward than receiving a standing ovation at a sold out show.

Before they could enjoy performing the show, there was a lot of hard work to be done to make the show a reality. Auditions consisted of one small monologue, and one full length song to show off their talent. Both Abbey and Tonya landed roles as ensemble characters. Even though they did not have lead roles, these girls had much more to prepare for, such as complicated dance numbers, heavy pop movements, and fast costume changes. Their hard work and dedication showed in their performance, and it really made it a great show to watch.

The show originated in February of 1984 and is so well known that there was no room for mistakes; this proved to be extremely nerve racking to the actors. Despite this fact, both Tonya and Abbey agree that it was an amazing feeling to see the audience getting so involved  and singing along with them.  After many long hours of preparation, it was their time to take the stage. These girls cut loose during their performances every weekend beginning on September 4th, and kicked off their Sunday shoes for their last show on September 19th.

Although Abbey does not plan on becoming a professional actor, and Tonya plans to study musical theater in college along with her other major, neuroscience, both plan to continue being part of Music Box productions, and will always hold acting, and their new life-long friends, close to their hearts.