PHS’s Spectacle Theatre brought a classic comedy to life this year with “Groundhog Day: The Musical” from March 13–15 in the Performing Arts Center. Based on the 1993 film of the same name, the musical follows Phil Connors, a weatherman who finds himself reliving Groundhog Day over and over again in the small town of Punxsutawney. Directed by drama teacher Julianna Krawiecki, the show highlighted the talents of the students involved through acting, music, dancing, and stage management.

“Last year, after we did “Beauty and the Beast,” I sat down and thought about what is a great contrast to this musical ... how do we make sure we give them a very different experience but do something that’s new and challenging and exciting, and “Groundhog Day” [is] very different from anything we’ve done,” said Krawiecki.

Bringing “Groundhog Day” to the stage required months of dedication from the cast, orchestra, and crew. With its fast-paced musical numbers, and intricate technical elements, the show posed unique challenges for everyone involved. From vocal rehearsals with PHS Choir Director
Vincent Metallo to going through scenes under the direction of Krawiecki, students in the cast and PHS Orchestra gave their all to perfect their performances while the tech crew spent hours building the set.

“Basically, as soon as the fall play was over ... we started
building the [set for the] musical because we knew that
it was going to be a huge undertaking. We’ve never done
a turntable before, so there was a lot that we wanted to
get figured out early. So we’ve been working on this [for]
eight to 10, 12, [or]14 weeks at this point,” said Jeffrey Van
Velsor, Set Designer and Technical Director for the show.

Being a member of the musical required dedication and
time management skills, as students spent a lot of time
after school rehearsing.

“The most challenging part [for me was] the amount of
time it [took]. Rehearsals [started] at 5:30 p.m. but they
often [went] past 8 p.m., and while it [was] a lot of fun, it
[could] be really time-consuming,” said cast member Ivy
Cordle ’27.

Music was a key element of the musical, with the orchestra
playing a central role. The PHS Orchestra rehearsed alongside the cast members, ensuring a seamless integration
of live music and performance that brought energy and
excitement to the show.

“Groundhog Day is a contemporary show. The genre
of the music is very upbeat pop [and] rock pop, so it’s [a]
very unique style, and that contemporary musical, more
modern musical, [brought] new challenges,” said Metallo.

PHS Orchestra, which provided a live soundtrack for the
show, faced the challenge of coordinating with the action
on stage as they were playing.

“There’s a lot of effort required ... to keep track of the
actors’ movements and lines. It’s hard to focus on just the
music when there are so many other things to consider,”
said Emily Leng ’27, a flautist in PHS Orchestra.

With months of hard work behind them, the cast, crew,
and orchestra delivered a performance that captivated
audiences over the three-night run. From the high-energy
musical numbers to the emotional character moments,
Groundhog Day was a testament to the dedication and
talent of PHS’s theater community.

Photo: Katherine Chen

Maxime DeVico ’27, Julia Scibienski ’27, Noa Zacks ’25, Sebastian Bongiovi ’25, Milania Kapoor ’27, Elena Barreto ’27, Judy Pwee ’27, Sanya Bhatt ’28, Sophie Mueller ’28, Daniel Spitkovsky ’27, Tara Venkatesh ’28, Sylven Waldman ’25, Ash Nieman ’26, and Anna Kaufman ’26 perform the number “Day One — Punxsutawney Phil” in “Groundhog Day.”

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