by ANDERS GUSTAFSON
STAFF WRITER
Following the success of Chadwick’s winter musical Legally Blonde, the school will host a second musical this year, Oppenheimer: The Musical at Laverty Auditorium.
Based on last year’s Academy Award-winning movie, Oppenheimer: The Musical is about the life of J. Robert Oppenheimer, a physicist who was instrumental in creating the nuclear bomb.
The film highlights Oppenheimer’s life before the bomb, the creation of the nuclear weapon, and his personal downfall after World War II. The musical will be
entirely original, composed by the joint efforts of Orchestra Director Richard Babcock and Theater Director Andi Dëma.
Freshman Parker Leshney, who plays J. Robert Oppenheimer,
is excited about the opportunity. “We’ve always had more goofy musicals,” he said. “So having one with a more serious tone is excit-
ing.”
Added Dëma: “I was a big fan of Oppenheimer, and I can’t wait to see how this musical will turn out. It’s also interesting to look at how it relates to current trends, with nuclear weapons being common in many countries around the world. I wanted to see how much we could do in my first year.”
Other students are also very excited about the musical. Senior Kai Dodson, who plays Lewis Strauss, explained his favorite song in the musical: “There’s a ballad between Oppenheimer and the love interest, and it’s emotional,” he said. “It comes right before the climax and explores Oppenheimer’s character. Everyone in the cast poured their hearts into making this possible, and we’ve never had two musicals in a year before. It’ll be great to end my Chadwick acting career with a bang.”
Sophomore Tommy Li, a stage crew member, shared his reaction: “I cried during the ballad scene. Sometimes it’s hard to do my job because of the tears gushing out of my eyes.” Sophomore Juliet Halvorsen also agreed about the strength of the songs in the musical. “My favorite song is the Los Alamos Anthem. It has a very explosive dance number, and the entire thing is a blast,” she said.
The musical will take place a month after the Middle School play, which presents distinct challenges for set-building and rehearsals, as the two groups will have to share the space. Junior and Stage Manager Liam Burleson commented, “It’s kind of stressful. We share the space with the Middle School, and it gets chaotic when two things happen at once.” He added, “They usually get priority for the stage, and it’ll be worse as it gets closer to the Middle School play, James and the Giant Peach, Jr. We get to help the Middle Schoolers at times, but occasionally, the stage crew just sits around.”
The Mainsheet 