BWW Interviews: Caitlin Scarpa and GODSPELL Cast 'Bless the Lord' on Staten Island

Thanksgiving and Christmas are fast approaching, and what better way to get into the spirit than by watching a production of Stephen Schwartz's Godspell? Well, you can do just that on Staten Island in just a few weeks. From November 14th-17th at the Snug Harbor Veterans Memorial Playhouse, In the Wings Productions will be presenting the hit musical, starring an incredible group of local talent. One of the players is Staten Island Yankees dancer Caitlin Scarpa, who was kind enough to talk to me about the production. Ticket info can be found at inthewingsproductionsny.com

1. Tell me a little about how long you've been dancing and what your favorite style is. I started dancing when I was 3. I went to two different dance studios; at one of them, I competed nationwide for a few years. Now I am a professional dancer for the Staten Island Yankees baseball team. Honestly, I love dancing. All the styles are different and unique- I like jazz and hip hop because they're really upbeat and fun to do.

2. What has been your favorite show to be a part of and why? I actually have three, they're kind of tied. I did Anything Goes as a sophomore in high school; I thought the dancing was awesome. Dirty Rotten Scoundrels I did the following year and we did Spanish salsa, square dancing, and jazz- it was everything. It was really cool because I was exposed to all those styles in one show. This past April I did The Pajama Game with In the Wings Productions. The bond with the cast was the most amazing one I've ever had; we were really a family. Dancing wise it was the most partner heavy show and a good experience.

3. Who are some performers that have inspired you? Sutton Foster is one of my idols. She can do it all- her singing is phenomenal, her acting is sublime, and she can dance on top of all of it.

4. You are singing "Turn Back, O Man" in Godspell. Without giving too much away, what is the choreography like in your production? We've all put our own twist on the choreography; it's very fun and people can do it with us. It's the kind of thing that we can really work with the crowd. I'm one of the more advanced dancers in the cast, so I'm picking it up quickly, although it's medium difficulty overall. Tanya [Nicklous Glassman] is our choreographer, she's fabulous.

5. What's the best dance sequence you have ever seen onstage or in a film? When I saw the Anything Goes revival I literally started crying during the title song just from watching them tap dance. I also saw Newsies and that choreography was out of this world.

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