by Kerry Weeks
Student theater hit it out of the park with their spring musicals at Maynard High School and Fowler this year! Maynard High School’s Theatre Company shone brightly in their spring production of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels on March 7, 8 and 9, 2025. Twenty-one MHS students and one Fowler student sang, danced, sashayed and crooned in David Yazbek and Jeffrey Lane’s musical, in which two con men compete to woo unsuspecting and wealthy women on the French Riviera. They were joined by 9 MHS students on stage crew, 11 on tech crew, and 4 in the pit.
Will Cahill, a senior at MHS, played Lawrence, a suave, sophisticated con man with a British , and at times Austrian, accent. Senior Nate Mauroy played the small town crook, Freddy Benson and also Lawrence’s “brother”, Ruprecht, using physical comedy and gags to keep the audience laughing.
The young women ensnared in Lawrence and Freddy’s hijinks include Zoe Avery, playing Muriel Eubanks, an ingenue who expresses her devotion to Lawrence, but lands her “happily ever after” with Andre, played by freshman, Gavin Izaguirre and freshman, Austin Wilde. Kendall Waldeck, junior, plays Jolene Oakes who looks forward to taking Lawrence to her ranch to meet her family in Oklahoma, but is scared off by his mentally disturbed brother, Ruprecht. Hailed as the “American Soap Queen,” Christine Colgate, a naive bumbling optimist, played by sophomore Chloe Houlihan, becomes a target of Lawrence and Freddy’s competition. The audience laughed along, following the twists and turns of this irreverent musical comedy.
MHS alumna, class of 2020, Ariane Mauroy, returned as director , after a successful directing debut with MHS’s 2024 production of Annie. When Ariane was a senior at Maynard High School, she was cast as lead actor, Christine Colgate in DRS, but the play was cancelled 48 hours before opening night, in March of 2020 due to the pandemic. Ariane reunited with other alums after this production, who shared that this performance helped them heal what they didn’t even realize needed healing. Ryan Defoe, the 2020 director of DRS, also attended to support Ariane and the new cast.
Stomach bugs and the flu almost disrupted this spring’s performances, but the cast soldiered on. On opening night, students Austin Wilde and Kendall Waldeck seamlessly took over the role of Lawrence, while Will Cahill sang his songs off stage. Assistant Director, Evelyn Hickey, an alumna of Maynard High School, jumped into the role of one of Lawrence’s suitors, Mauriel. Kevin Murphy, the musical director, admired the MHS students’ ability to improvise, saying “I have seen my share of middle and high school theater over the years, but I cannot remember the last time cast members understudied a fellow cast member on the spot. Austin and Kendall did a superb job of keeping the drama moving…. Impressive!”
Kevin Murphy directed professional and MHS student musicians in the live orchestra pit, creating a vibrant dynamic for the show. “Audio tracks are, by nature, unresponsive.” Kevin said. “A real (orchestra) pit is capable of reacting to the action onstage in a heartbeat, and this spontaneity lends a whole new energy to music theater, one that MHS band members assimilated quickly.” MHS students Matthew Lucas, on trumpet and guitar; Noel Hunt and Matthew Berman, on drums and percussion; and Lillian Hochmuth, flute, dedicated a considerable amount of time to learning the Broadway score. Professional musicians Rob Hammerton, electric bass, and Sharon Marshall, clarinet, also performed with the students.
Meanwhile, Fowler’s production of Mean Girls, Jr. brought Maynard on a wild ride March 21st and 22nd, directed by devoted Fowler teachers and magic makers Ms. Michelle Travers and Mr. Travis Hales. Over 50 Fowler students comprised the actors and stage and tech crews for this hilarious performance! Cady Heron, played by Maylee Hiatt, may have grown up on an African savanna, but nothing prepared her for the wild and vicious ways of her strange new home: suburban Illinois. She takes on The Plastics, a trio of lionized frenemies led by the charming but ruthless Regina George, played by Ariana Mancone, alongside actors Sabrina Symes (playing Karen Smith) and Natalie Nauseda (playing Gretchen Wieners). But when Cady devises a plan to end Regina’s reign, she learns the hard way that you can’t cross a queen bee without getting stung. Cady’s love interest Aaron Samuels was played by Lucas Harrison, who forged on in his role despite a leg injury. And her two sassy loner friends Damian Hubbard, played by Tommy Leonhardt, and Janis Sarkisian (played by Alice Blunt), narrate the story as they too stoke the flames of high school drama.
The theater programs at Maynard High School and Fowler School (grades 4-8) are supported by the Maynard Theater Association (MTA), a new non-profit raising funds to support student theater in Maynard. Erika Wilde, MTA vice-president, Artistic Director in community theater, and Maynard parent, emphasized how vital it is for students to have a strong performing arts program, “Theater creates community and helps students develop a strong sense of self and identity. Acting also builds empathy and emotional intelligence, and helps strengthen relationships. Furthermore, participating in theater encourages collaboration, builds confidence, and fuels creativity.”
The Maynard Theater Association is accepting donations to fund robust theater experiences: Maynard Theater Association, MHS, 1 Tiger Drive, Maynard, MA 01754
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