Green Mountain High School always does a Fall Play and a Spring Musical, and despite the challenges the GMHS Theatre Department has faced due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, they are still performing and doing what they love. 

Two weeks after Winter Break ended, the cast of Lucky Stiff, the Spring Musical, began rehearsing. Originally based on the 1983 novel The Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo by Micheal Butterworth, Lucky Stiff is a comedic-murder mystery that follows a cast of ten characters “Lucky Stiff is about an English shoe-salesman named Harry Whitherspoon who must take his uncle’s dead body on a vacation to Monte Carlo in order to win a 6 million dollar inheritance,” according to GMHS senior Connor Burns, who plays Harry Witherspoon. The musical features a smaller cast compared to Green Mountain’s usual choices for the Spring Musical, but it does make rehearsals safer for the cast and crew involved.

COVID-19 has impacted the GMHS Theatre Department and the cast of Lucky Stiff in many ways. Due to the restrictions put in place because of COVID-19, the stage crew and the cast of Lucky Stiff are unable to come in for rehearsals on the same day. The time for rehearsals is now limited and similar to sports and other activities, masks have to be worn at all times and screening for COVID-19 occurs before each rehearsal. According to Connor Burns, “… our activity is extremely high risk. Masks are required in rehearsal, obviously, which presents obstacles such as having proper breath support while we sing, dance, act…”  But despite the challenges and newfound obstacles, the cast and crew are still grateful for the opportunity to be putting on a show. Presley Nemecek, a GMHS Junior who plays Annabel Glick in the show, states, “This year with COVID, we are lucky enough to even put on a musical. The theatre department has run into some obstacles along the way but we have persevered and will be able to put on a show!”

Due to the constantly changing restrictions and rules that are in place because of COVID-19, it is still unknown how many people will be able to watch Lucky Stiff live, but the show can be streamed from April 29th through May 1st. The performing arts have suffered greatly from COVID-19 and many groups have been unable to perform for over a year, so the possibility of a live audience watching Lucky Stiff is providing hope that the arts and life can return to normal soon.