If you walked through in the cafeteria or Senior Commons after school a couple months ago, you probably heard many singing voices and piano notes resonating through the hallways. Throughout March and April, actresses of this year’s spring musical rehearsed in the the M&M Building every afternoon. Mary Poppins came to Montrose earlier this month, and Montrose thespians performed magically. After many hours of memorizing lines and learning choreography, the cast and crew put on one of Montrose’s best productions to date.

Abby McAvoy ’19, graduating this Friday (and pictured below), has been a part of our school’s arts for as long as she has attended Montrose. “I have been involved with set design since the sixth grade. I did the middle school musical, Schoolhouse Rock, and I’ve also done set design for pretty much every show since the sixth grade,” she said in an interview. “My favorite all-school musical that I’ve done is Fiddler on the Roof, because it’s just a classic, and the songs are so fun, and we had a wonderful cast. My favorite play that I’ve done was El Phantismo last year. The chaos of the plot, everyone dressed in disguise, the amount of costume changes we all had backstage –it was so fun.”

From middle school until today, Abby has become not only a lead actress, but also a leader for the Set Design Club. For Mary Poppins, Abby not only helped to construct and paint the sets for each of the scenes, but also prepared to play a key role in the musical as George Banks. When asked about how she manages to balance it all, Abby said: “I guess I just prioritize what I love to do. Honestly, I’m the kind of person where I feel like I want to do learn everything, I want to do everything, so sometimes it is hard, but I think that choosing things that you really, truly love and making the time for it, you can always make time for the things you love.”

Abby is not the only Montrose thespian to have this kind of dedication for the arts. Many Upper School thespians performed the spring musical just a week before their AP exams. During tech week, the cast rehearsed in the A&A for many hours past the regular 3:15 dismissal. Also, with the introduction of the A Cast/B Cast system, the actresses needed to dedicate even more time and focus to bring the show together.

“I loved how they used the whole auditorium, it wasn’t just the stage,” said Scarlett, who came to watch Mary Poppins and will join Montrose in the fall. Mrs. Locke creatively spaced the scenes of the musical so that the characters truly came to life. Bert and Mary Poppins amongst other characters graced to and from the stage by walking back and forth through the center aisle of the audience. Bert also offered a friendly handshake and a tip of his hat to audience members, creating a pleasant atmosphere for all.

Ms. Lechner, Mrs. Derendorf, and Mrs. Locke were all new teachers at Montrose this year, so their help to make everything come together for Mary Poppins is especially impressive. The cast of Mary Poppins blew everyone away with their stunning songs and lines –bravo to all!