Holy Cross Student Theatre's Shakespeare's AS YOU LIKE IT Begins Tonight

The Holy Cross Student Theater (HCST) is proud to announce William Shakespeare's timeless classic AS YOU LIKE IT as its' fall production for the 2015-2016 school year. Performances run at Holy Cross High School (HCHS) in Waterbury this weekend, November 13th & 14th at 7:00 p.m. and November 15th at 2:00 p.m. The production is under the direction of HCHS faculty member, Paul Whealon (Waterbury).

Tickets are $8.00 and can be purchased at the door or by calling HCHS at 203-757-9248. Seniors will be admitted free for the Sunday, November 15th matinee only.

"We do a Shakespearean production every four years," said Mr. Whealon, who has mounted past HCST productions of A Midsummer Night's Dream, Richard III and The Taming of the Shrew. "It is very important to us that we expose our students to a wide range of plays and musicals from classic to contemporary. Even though Shakespeare's plays are over 500 years old, I believe they can and do say something to the students performing them today."

All the world is a stage in Shakespeare's pastoral comedy, a mixture of concealed identities, oppression, love, marriage and the inevitable happy ending. After being banished by Duke Frederick, the witty Rosalind (Emily Buza '16 of Naugatuck), her cousin Celia (Christina Finkenzeller '18 of Waterbury) and the clown Touchstone (Michael Perkins '18), flee to the Forest of Arden where her exiled father holds court. They blend in with their new surroundings as simple, country folk. Rosalind takes it one step further by dressing as a boy. Eventually, she meets and falls in loves with the exiled Orlando (Bradd Cyr '16 of Waterbury). Throughout the course of the play, she tests his feelings for her while in disguise.

The HCST Cast of AS YOU LIKE IT includes: Emily Buza '16 (Naugatuck), Bradd Cyr '16, Michael Perkins '18, Jacob Gannon '18, Christina Finkenzeller '18, Jenn Carroll '17, Isabella Ilievski '17, Adiana Perugini '18, Crystal Davis '16 (all from Waterbury), Olivia Hickey '16, John Vito '18, Nick Pietrarazio '19 (all from Watertown), Emily Bowler '17, Jack Bowler '16, Ben Bowler '19 (all from Middlebury), Marina Setaro '17, Dom Setaro '16, Mira Chartier '17 (all from Wolcott), Megan Dreher '16, Catherine Melchionne '16 (both from Prospect), Juliana Battaglia '17, Meghan Booth '18 (both from Oakville), Alicia Westberg '17, Liam Palilla '16 (both from Newtown), Gillian Russo '16 (Woodbury), Leanne Raymond '17 (Plantsville), Lauren Dwyer '16 (Southbury), Haley Cuttitta '17 (Lakeside), Galvin Brayton '19 (Bethlehem), Patrick McMahon '17 (Thomaston) and Brandon White '18 (Terryville).

Holy Cross High School (HCHS) is a Catholic secondary school founded in Waterbury, CT in 1968 by the Congregation of Holy Cross. At 37 acres, it is the largest Catholic secondary school in CT. HCHS has a total enrollment of approximately 500 students. Originally an all-boys institution, it became co-educational in 1975 when it merged with the all-girls school, Waterbury Catholic High School. The Mission of Holy Cross High School is to assist in the total Christian education of young men and women. To accomplish this, Holy Cross High School, in cooperation with parents, provides a framework, which fosters integration of the spiritual, intellectual, emotional, physical and social growth of each individual.

The HCHS campus maintains a campus-wide wi-fi signal, the Br. James Kane Library Media Center, a large instrumental and choral music room with adjacent practice rooms, The Fryer Family Chemistry Lab, two Brother Harold Hathaway Life Science Labs, a state-of-the-art language lab, a guidance complex, a 740-seat auditorium, The Monteiro Family Sports Medicine Facility, a full-service cafeteria, the Timothy J. McDonald Gymnasium, the Stephen J. Ross Fitness Center, and three digital classrooms and art studios in the Alix Family Gallery Art & Technology Center.