BGP (Before Guilderland Players) -

There was theatre at Guilderland High School (GHS) before the founding of The Guilderland Players (TGP). The Drama Club presented at least one play each year. Some staff members associated with the Drama Club were Del Ropke and Lyle Warner.

Even before the creation of GHS, Altamont High School presented one or more dramatic productions each year. TGP came into being sometime during the 1968-69 school year. It was the brainchild of English teacher Bob Scrafford who felt that GHS should present a musical each year in addition to whatever dramatic presentations the Drama Club performed. I was a first-year teacher in 1968-69 and was not very aware of the formation of this new theatre group at GHS. I do know that meetings for interested faculty members were held, and a core of volunteers was assembled. Few of the volunteers had any experience in musical theatre. There was little or no money from the school for such a project. The auditorium was ill-equipped for large scale, multiple-scene productions. There was no tradition of musical theatre at GHS, and most students had never seen a live musical since there were very few venues the Guilderland area. (Not existing at that time were The Egg; Capital Rep; Proctor’s and The Palace (as live production venues), and the Park Playhouse.) In short, there was little reason to assume that TGP would be successful. Despite the apparent lack of resources, it was decided to perform Bye Bye Birdie in February of 1970 and to set auditions for the Fall of 1969.

1969-1970 - I became involved in TGP one day in late autumn, 1969. I was walking past the auditorium after school one day, and I heard beautiful singing coming from behind the doors. I stopped and listened. My curiosity was aroused. I decided to sneak in to hear better. (It is amazing how seemingly small decisions can lead to profound changes in one’s life.) What I discovered was a student (either Karen Ragotzkie or Gail Garrison - memory fails) standing on the stage singing for several faculty members seated in the auditorium.

It was one of the first, dreaded musical auditions at GHS. I was entranced. I had no theatre background. I came from a high school with no theatre program. I was not involved in my college’s theatre program. I didn’t know that high school students could sing like that. I did know I wanted to be around students like that. When the audition was over, I approached Bob Scrafford, the director, and said, “I don’t know what I can do, but if you need help, let me know.”

“Be here tomorrow,” he replied. Bye Bye Birdie was an incredible experience for all involved. No one knew what to expect. There was no past to draw on. Our number one asset was determination. When the three performances were over, The Altamont Enterprise said, “Every audience was pleased, amazed and proud.” Those sentiments were also true of all those associated with the show. We all knew we had started something special.

Here are some details about Bye Bye Birdie:

• There were 44 people in the cast. 40 were students at GHS, three were faculty members and one was a student from Colonie High. Almost all auditioned, but in the case of several male performers, coercion was used. An additional “cast member” was Ed Sullivan whose taped voice was used for the Ed Sullivan Show scene.
• The scenery consisted of a background of white flats with various pieces suspended from them to indicate locations. Scenic highlights included a slide show by Ted Vickery, Art teacher, which accompanied the overture, and a series of brightly colored scaffold pieces for the “telephone hour” scene.
• Costuming for the teenage characters was provided mainly by the teenage cast members.
• 1970 was the only year in which the musical was presented for only three performances. Thursday was added the next year. It was also the only musical to be performed in February.
• Bye Bye Birdie had an unusual casting situation which continued for several years. Several of the female roles were double cast with the two performers sharing the role alternating performances, starting with the dress rehearsal.
• Our first “cross dressing” occurrence was prompted by the casting of Patty Sano as Randolph MacAfee.
• The sound system for Birdie was provided by Stan Hanna of Specialized Audio House. Although listed in the program as R. Hanna of Adirondack Electronic Co., Mr. Hanna continued to supply us with sound equipment for many years. Specialized Audio is now owned by a former member of TGP. More on that later.
• Several students for whom Birdie was their only experience with TGP made their mark in other aspects of theatre. Rita Sansone (Russell), the student director, is very active in local theatre groups such as Schenectady Civic Theatre. Judy Murphy, one of our Kims, went on to become Albany Tulip Queen.
• Birdie was choreographed by a student, Pat Langenbach, who later ran a dance school in Guilderland Center for many years. The rehearsal pianist was also a student, Jim Reeves.
• Staff members who were with TGP from the first year and for many years to follow include Don Webster, Paul Krauss, Bev Harrington, and Ted and Ellie Vickery.
• The orchestra had 27 members, six of whom were adults.
• As I remember, the cast party was a spontaneous event on Saturday night at The Pizza Hut in Colonie. The management was less than amused.
• The ticket price was $1.50.
• The program was 16 pages long. One page was blank, but there was a picture “centerfold” containing 14 pictures.

The Altamont Enterprise review of Bye Bye Birdie ended with the sentence, “Guilderland High School has much talent, and with cooperation, understanding and enthusiasm, we all look forward to future productions as excellently performed as this first landmark in high school productions.” I will not qualitatively compare subsequent musicals to Birdie or to each other, but I will suggest that for sheer excitement, no performance of TGP compares with the 1970 Birdie.