This year for the fall play, the Dulaney Theatre Company merged “Elf the Musical Jr.” and “Charlie Brown Christmas” into one production.

“This is the first time we’ve combined two shows instead of one over the course of two acts. The audience will have a unique chance to watch two completely different stories in one night,” said Sound Chief Kristine Xie, who oversees microphones, sound effects, voice-overs and music.

Dulaney’s fall play does not traditionally include music or dance choreography, but chorus teacher Christina Senita explained why they made an exception for this year’s performance.

“Right now, “Elf the Musical Jr.” was available and because of its popularity, we weren’t sure if it would still be available in the future. So, it was a great time to do it.”

Though some may be concerned that the performance is meant to showcase the musical talents of the students, Senita quickly debunked this idea, “We’re still able to make sure that people who don’t consider singing their strength a chance to get a spotlight.”

Dulaney students have grown up watching “A Charlie Brown Christmas” and “Elf” so the Dulaney Theatre Company wanted to keep the familiarity of the Christmas classics.

Junior Grace Jecelin, in the ensemble in “A Charlie Brown Christmas” said, “Because the movie ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’ is such a classic, we’ve tried to make the show as close to the actual movie as we can. We want the members of our audience to feel the nostalgia and magic that comes along with watching this movie while watching our show.”

The two shows are similar to the original movies in terms of the plot and characters. Specifically, for the “Charlie Brown Christmas” portion of the performance, the scripts are exactly the same as the movie. Since the movie “Elf” has a more complex plot, the shortened version being utilized by Dulaney is compressed, but still contains the original elements in musical format.

Behind the scenes, students and teachers have been working hard to prepare the shows for the audience by rehearsing lines, painting and constructing various set design pieces and organizing the performance so that it runs smoothly. Junior Caroline Horn, the head of costume design, talks about the process of creating costumes for such a well-known, timeless story.

Horn said, “For shows like Charlie Brown with iconic characters it’s best to just find photos of their costumes. I then go into the costume closet and try to find pieces that could work or that we could make work.”

The production put on by the Dulaney Theatre Company surpassed expectations. The tireless effort and collaboration from the cast and crew was evident in the craftsmanship of the show. Both on and off stage, the students and teachers provided the audience with a one-of-a-kind experience.

photos curtsy of ben clement

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