NEW YORK CHOREOGRAPHER ASSISTS SCHOOL PRODUCTION

By STEPHEN HAMMILL

Gaither drama students received some dance lessons from one of the pros last week.

The Gaither High School musical theater department welcomed New York choreographer Shea Sullivan to aid in the production of its newest musical, “Thoroughly Modern Millie.”

Sixty-five Gaither students from grades nine through 12 make up the cast and crew of the play, a recent Broadway production adapted from the 1967 film starring Julie Andrews.

Sullivan met with parents and the community at-large at a reception Feb. 6 in the school’s media center. She spent the week choreographing five production numbers to the cast during school days.

Lee Ann Brown and Candace Newman are co-directors of the musical.

“We knew we had a lot of good dancers who are seniors, and we knew we had a Millie. So we started looking for a choreographer,” said Brown.

Gaither teacher Mary Frances Leto Granell also owns the Frank Rey Dance Studio in Tampa. Every year she takes a number of students to New York City to partake in classes at the Broadway Dance Center. And one of those sessions, a tap dance class, is taught by Shea Sullivan. Granell has also attended teacher workshops taught by Sullivan.

“She and I formed a relationship,” Granell said. “When the need arose for a choreographer here, she said she’d be happy to do it.”
Granell teaches in the social studies department at Gaither. Her daughter, junior Francesca Granell, is cast in the lead role as Millie.

The theater program was able to afford Sullivan’s services thanks to a grant given by the Student Advisory Committee. The SAC is the school’s fundraising club.

Sullivan said her job sends her all over the country, teaching choreography and various workshops to theater companies. She said the winter is an unusual time for her to work with a high school.

“But, there’s a lot of great talent down here,” she said.

Sullivan was born in Miami where she started dancing at the age of 5. When she was 12 she met her mentor, legendary tap dancer Henry LeTang, while visiting New York. She began the intense study of tap with LeTang and has enjoyed a long-term relationship with him as his student, protégé and assistant.
Sullivan’s been a choreographer for 10 years now. Some of her stage credits include choreography for New York productions of “The Wizard of Oz,” “The Music Man” and “Bye Bye Birdie.” She also runs SAS Productions and is currently at work producing an off-Broadway musical inspired by Mae West called “It’s Not What I Say,” which is in pre-production.

Gaither High School usually performs six plays per academic year, which, last year, included a children’s play in the fall, for elementary-aged school kids.
They perform their big musical in the spring, with ticket proceeds going back into the program. The rest of the budget for productions comes from fundraising and annual dues – not from the school itself. They average a budget $5,000 a year, according to Brown.

“We raise money mostly through fund drives,” she said.

According to Brown and Newman they had to pay a $1,700 royalty fee for rights to perform “Thoroughly Modern Millie.”

“I really don’t know how the smaller schools do it,” Brown said.

The cast of the musical is made up of students from the musical theater classes. Typically Brown teaches the music and designs the sets, while Newman does the blocking.

The ratio of girls to boys in the school’s musical theater department is nearly 10-to-1.

“We could never do ‘West Side Story,’” said Newman.

Sullivan worked with the cast for one week, flying through dance routines for five musical numbers.
“Just seeing them go through the process – they come in with a different impression – they get a taste. I’ve noticed that the level has really gone up. I can tell that they really took the material home and thought about it.”

“To see the process they go through is the coolest part,” she said.

In addition to her stage work, Sullivan has also choreographed for film and television, and is a member of the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers. She serves currently on the faculty at the Broadway Dance Center in New York City.

The performance of “Thoroughly Modern Millie” will take place April 26-27. Ticket sales will be announced at a future date.