BY SAMI SCHERRER
Staff Writer

A recluse remains isolated in his New York City studio apartment, but when he plays the soundtrack of his favorite musical, suddenly the actors and actresses come to life in his room, ending his confinement and pulling the man into the action of the jazz age.

The scene characterizes the plot of this year’s musical, The Drowsy Chaperone, which is a play within a play as a lonely man’s apartment comes to life with his favorite 1920’s jazz music, and he adds his own narration to the comedic action.

“I saw it on Broadway and thought it was hysterical,” musical Director Jason Coll said.

The Tony- Award winning musical will be performed April 15-18 in the high school auditorium.

Coll chose The Drowsy Chaperone because he felt that the musical fit the cast well.

“I met with kids in the fall to see how many kids were interested and thought for the size of the cast, the musical was a perfect match,” Coll said.

A Baldwin graduate, Coll was heavily involved in the drama department throughout his high school years, and he served as the student director of The Pajama Game his senior year. The first musical Coll wrote, It’s Your World, was performed on Baldwin’s stage in 1989.

In his years since graduating, Coll has built an impressive resume as a writer, director, and performer in the theater. Coll graduated from Carnegie Mellon’s School of Drama and served as the creative and associate artistic direc tor of Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera for 10 years.  He is the author of 11 original musicals and six of his musicals have been produced by the CLO. Coll has also directed for the CLO, including shows such as A Christmas Carol.

Coll is married to English teacher Dr. Lisa Klein. With Klein, Coll created the children’s television pilot Write On!, which turned the creative writing of young people into short teleplays.

This is Coll’s first time back at Baldwin directing a musical. Supt. Dr. Randal Lutz contacted Coll to ask him to take the position.

“It’s fun to share with the kids what I’ve learned with all of the professionals I’ve worked with over the years,” Coll said.

Coll serves as both the stage and music director of the production. He’s incorporating new scenic design plans for the production. He hired a professional stage designer to create architectural drafts and models, and he plans to rent costumes.

Senior Dani Wolfson, who plays the female lead, Janet Van De Graaff, used to attend classes at CLO and saw the work Coll did there.

“I was excited when I found out that he was working with us, because I knew he was very talented,” Wolfson said.

Freshman Robbie Miller will play the lead role as the man in the chair and says he feels blessed to have such a prominent role in his first high school production.

“Mr. Coll’s a very good person to learn from, and he has a good balance with us. He makes sure we get work done but still have fun,” Miller said

As a senior, Wolfson is thankful for the experiences the musical has given her.

“Working with the directors and participating in the musical has helped me with my confidence and creativity. When you step on stage, you become this character and forget about everything,” Wolfson said