Helen Hayes Youth Theater Displays Resilience, Performs Broadway Classic

After a flood temporarily wiped away their beloved Riverspace cultural center earlier this summer, the cast and crew of the Helen Hayes Youth Theater summer camp buoyed themselves with the support of Clarkstown South High School and performed the popular Broadway musical “Guys and Dolls” Friday night.

More than 100 people came to the high school for opening night.

 “I think the performance was excellent; the kids worked so hard,” said Lexie Frare, an assistant director/choreographer for the show. “I was laughing and the parents were laughing. They enjoyed it and you can’t ask for anything more than that.”

J.D. Zeik, who came to watch his daughter, Abby Perry-Zeik, perform, said he has seen many of the shows put on by the Helen Hayes Youth Theater. 

“It was great,” Zeik said.  “Helen Hayes does a really great job.” 

the cast and crew readied themselves for the performance in just two weeks.  They had nine days of rehearsal (plus a day for auditions) each day lasting from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Madison Deming, who played “Sarah,” said the whole group worked hard.      

“Even though it was the junior version, we did add stuff back in,” Deming said. “It was really interesting seeing how the show developed over the two weeks and how hard every cast member really worked to put it all together in such a short time.”

Sophie Goldstein, who played “Adelaide,” agreed with her fellow co-lead.            

“I think it went really well overall,” Goldstein said.  “It was kind of sloppy in the beginning of the week, and we totally adjusted and made it so well.” 

The theater group recalled an adjustment phase regarding the change of location. Goldstein said it was different learning a new backstage area and new dressing rooms. Frare, who started at Helen Hayes when she was 10 years old, described Riverspace as “our home,” a feeling shared by Deming as well.      

“I’ve been with Helen Hayes for a long time, and it’s really sad moving to a different place,” Deming said. “I mean Riverspace was our home.  It was hard at first. It was a change, but it was good in a way because we got this great space out of it.” 

Frare said Clarkstown accommodated her group and was thankful to them for making the adjustment easier. 

A recent Emerson college graduate, Frare said she has choreographed for the group for four years.    

“When the program started, I was here,” she said.  “I grew up in the program.  This is my first big directing gig with them as well.”

Deming said she enjoyed the role of “Sarah.” 

 “I loved it,” she said.  “It’s such a great experience to play Sarah because she has so many different facets of her and different scenes.  I loved singing “Marry the Man Today” with Adelaide. One of the reasons was that she was one of my good friends.  Also, it’s such a great song and it’s very catchy.  So that was my favorite part of the show.” 

The group will conclude its presentation of “Guys and Dolls” Saturday night.