"Ninety minutes of fun and done." That's what musical director Robert Cohen is calling the 2011 CHS All School Musical, "The Drowsy Chaperone," which opens this Friday March 11.  “It is a perfect musical to present in a high school,” enthused Cohen.  "It has a lot of really good roles ... and you're going to love the show." Drowsy Chaperone captured the 2006 Tony Awards for Best Score and Best Book (book by Bob Martin and Don McKellar and music and lyrics byLisa Lambert and Greg Morrison). Conceived as a tribute to the Jazz Age musicals of the 1920s and '30s, the story is advanced by a …

At 10 p.m. on Thurs., January 6, there were about 230 smiling and proud faces on the risers and stage at Columbia High School, performing their concert finale — "America the Beautiful." The CHS Winter Concert and Art Show may have been delayed 16 days, but for the students in the CHS band, orchestra, choral and art programs, as well as the passionate audience members, the wait seemed well worth it. The event was both a musical and technical success and was one of the first salvos in Director of Fine Arts Anthony Mazzocchi's efforts to raise the bar for South Orange-Maplewood School District …

The Columbia High School Winter Concert and Art Show, featuring the work of the CHS Band, Orchestra and Choral groups, as well as the work of CHS art students is scheduled for this coming Tuesday, December 2t at 7:00 p.m. The show promises to draw a large crowd since the format being utilized is a marked change from past years. Why the change? The story is an interesting one. Traditionally, the three performance groups at CHS presented their winter concerts on separate evenings. In fact, this year's original schedule had the CHS Choirs performing on Wednesday, December 15, followed by the CHS…

What started during the heat of August on Ritzer Field at Columbia High School, ended on a cold, sleety, rainy and, yes, even snowy day at Lynn V. Profeta Field, as the CHS Marching Band wrapped up an exciting and exhausting season. The band gave the final on-the-field performance of its 2010 Program "Spanish Fantasy" at the Football team's November 13 playoff game against Bridgewater-Raritan. The band members battled in their final competition at the Northern States Competition in Allentown, PA on November 7. They also took the time to celebrate their season and friendships at their 2010 …

Anyone fortunate enough to be at the Columbia High School Black Box Theater last Saturday night couldn't help but walk away impressed and moved. The CHS Parnassian Society presentation of Thornton Wilder's "Our Town" touched both the mind and heart.This production of Our Town — with its final two performances this Friday and Saturday night — is directed by Steven Stubelt and produced by Janet Bustrin. The three-act play is set in small town Grover's Corners, New Hampshire in the early 20th Century. Industrialization and immigration are ramping up and the townsfolk are trying to make sense of …

Two Columbia High students will be singing with the best high school students in the state this Sunday at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark. The New Jersey All State Mixed Chorus performs their final concert this Sunday November 14, at 3:00 p.m. at NJPAC. CHS' Tyler Pease and Jake Rothenberg are part of this select and talented group. Pease and Rothenberg are two of only 340 students in the entire state to have been selected to the All State Mixed Chorus, which is a vocal group comprised of New Jersey High School Vocal Music students. The group is administered under the …

It's eight days before opening night and producer Janet Bustrin is busy finalizing  costumes for her cast. Unsatisfied with a character's footwear,  Bustrin asks,  "Does your mom have less trendy boots?"  Upon hearing one of her performers express some concern about the tightness of her dress Bustrin quips, "Don't eat any french fries before the 20th." All this is part of a day's work as Bustrin and show director Stephen Stubelt (who also doubles as Bustrin's husband) prepare their troupe for the Columbia High School Parnassian Society fall production. This year's show is Thornton Wilder's …

A sold-out crowd of elementary age and pre-school children, with dutiful guardians in tow, filled the Columbia High School Black Box Theater at 11:00 a.m. on the Saturday before Halloween. They were there to see CHS Vice Principal and Magic Club Advisor Michael Healy present his annual Magic Show. The show was the first of two (a second show was held at 1:00 p.m.) and proceeds from the performances help fund the yearly activities of the CHS Magic Club. According to Healy, this past week was National Magic Week, and, yes, you canlook it up if you believe you are being tricked. Students in the …

The Columbia High School Italian Cultural Club presented their 18th Italian Dinner-Music Night this past Friday night. Held in the CHS cafeteria, the program featured Italian music, dance, poetry, acting and puppetry, presented by CHS students, parents and faculty.  This year's event was dedicated to the island of Sicily. Italian Cultural Club President and CHS Senior Lucas Cohen acted as master of ceremonies, introducing the performers.   Guests included a healthy sprinkling of parents, students, CHS faculty, and members of local Italian cultural organizations including the Father Vincent …

Columbia Marching Band Director Peter Bauer had to quote Agent 99 Maxwell Smart to clearly convey how close Saturday's Mt. Olive Marching Band competition truly was. "Missed it by that much," stated Bauer, as Columbia took second place. "The judges basically said that when two bands are so close, it's a coin toss," commented Bauer, adding, "if anyone knows about statistics you have to know that eventually that coin will land with the other side facing up!"  Nutley High School took first place in the competition by the slim margin of six tenths of one point.  Trying to pinpoint what the …