Francesca Barberis was supposed to fly home last week.
Luckily for us, the Italian exchange student was allowed to extend her stay in Coquitlam by three weeks to star in Pinetree secondary's winter production of Hairspray, which opens on Thursday night.
Pinetree drama specialist - and the show director and choreographer - Natalee Fera said Barberis "blew everybody away at auditions" last fall, adding, "She's one of the strongest in the class."
This semester's musical theatre class at Pinetree has been particularly bright, Fera said, and she wanted to stage an upbeat, well-known show for the Grade 12 students to remember their high school years by.
Barberis, an honour roll student, is cast as Penny Pingleton, the best friend of Tracy Turnblad who is portrayed by Daphne Santos. Fera picked Santos as the lead for her bubbly personality, strong work ethic and triple treat talent: she is a student at Caulfield School of Dance and last year played a mean step-sister in Pinetree's Cinderella.
Kylie Fonacier, a Dynamite, is the musical director of the show that includes a live student orchestra (under the baton of Marcia Carmichael) while Taylor Vander Baaren - last year's Prince Charming in Cinderella - is Link Larkin, the teenage heartthrob on The Corny Collins Show; Vander Baaren has taken private vocal lessons for the past three years.
And then there's Madison Green, the lead in Cinderella who is cast as the villain in Hairspray, Amber Von Tussle, the de facto dance queen of Baltimore in 1962 who refuses to be dethroned by the plump but pleasant Turnblad.
Fera spotted Green's musical chops as early as Grade 6 when Fera taught at Summit middle school. Two years later, Fera recruited Green for Pinetree's Oliver and, once at the high school, she earned major roles in 13, Grease, Cinderella and Hairspray.
A student of Caulfield and the Port Moody School of Dance, Green said she was inspired by a trip to New York City last fall when Fera escorted a few Pinetree students to Broadway shows and musical theatre workshops. "I want to be an actress and it became very clear in New York that's where I want to be," said Green, who is represented by Trisko Talent Management and has parents and an uncle in the business.
Fera also singled out musical theatre students Alyssa Cagaoan (Motormouth Mabel), Ryan Sharpe (Corny Collins), Brody Chamberlin (Edna Turnblad), Kyle Eastman (Wilbur Turnblad) and Marie Louise Puevas (Little Inez) for their acting skills.
In fact, Fera has become more than just a teacher to them. Her band, Marry Me, included some of her Pinetree students in its recent Secret Santa video and she hopes to stay in touch with them after graduation.
As for Barberis, who returns home to Italy the day after Hairspray closes on Valentine's Day, she's grateful to be part of the show as it will likely be her only high school production.
"In Italy, there's not enough money to do things like this," she said in fluent English, "so this will be a great memory of Pinetree secondary and Canada."
Treehouse Theatre's Hairspray runs Feb. 5 to 7 and Feb. 12 to 14 at Pinetree secondary school (3000 Pinewood Ave., Coquitlam) at 7:30 p.m. Tickets at $12 are available in the school office. Call 604-464-2513.
@jwarrenTC
