Parents help to cook up a successful Eastport South Manor musical

It was about two years ago when the parents of students performing in musicals at Eastport South Manor High School came to realize that a demanding rehearsal schedule was leaving their kids with few options for a decent dinner.

“Most of the parents were concerned with kids leaving the school premises at dinner time and going out in cars with kids we didn’t know,” said parent Barbara Stanco. “It was also wasting time, and we were worried as well that they weren’t eating properly.”

Rehearsals for student productions are held six nights a week during a grueling eight-week schedule, Ms. Stanco said, adding that the cast and crew begin rehearsing at the end of each school day at roughly 3 p.m., and often keep practicing until 11 p.m.

Parents, along with Eastport South Manor High School theater director Joseph Minutillo, brainstormed about what they could do to curb the poor eating habits of students and came up with a solution: home cooked meals for cast and crew—catered by parents at the school every night of rehearsal.

“I had one mother from another school district ask me, ‘Why are you feeding them?’” Ms. Stanco recalled. “I said, ‘Because these kids work like dogs. They rehearse, they do their homework in the hallways, they catch some sleep when they can.’

“Plus, by [parents] putting together dinners, they all came together, from cast to crew to pit orchestra,” Ms. Stanco added. “It gave them all a chance to have some nice time together, when they can have conversations and laughs.”

On Monday, Ms. Stanco was joined by fellow parents Katie Spellman, Connie Sergio and Sue Tavella in serving a meal of Swedish meatballs, savory chicken, buttery mashed potatoes, fluffy rice and lots of healthy veggies to about 100 kids rehearsing for the musical version of Victor Hugo’s 1862 immortal tale of the French Revolution, “Les Misérables.”

The musical opens at the high school on Friday night, with performances running all weekend.

Ms. Spellman said that more than 60 parents take turns cooking meals, which are funded entirely by donations from theater parents. Meals have been served since the beginning of February. Each meal, including plates, napkins and cutlery, can cost $500 or more, according to Ms. Spellman. After doing the math, Ms. Spellman said it cost approximately $10,000 to feed cast and crew dinner five nights a week—and lunches on Saturdays—for the past five weeks.

“But it’s not coming out of school money,” Ms. Spellman cautioned. “This is all parents’ money, parents’ time and parents’ effort.”

“It’s worth it to know our kids are well fed and safe,” added Ms. Tavella.

Ms. Tavella said it takes three to four hours to set up, serve and clean up meals in the school’s tech room, which sits just opposite the ESM stage. Menus are carefully planned out to include a healthy variety of all the food groups, she added. Vegan food is also provided for those who choose not to eat meat and nuts were deliberately left out of all recipes to avoid causing any food allergy reactions.

“They cater these rehearsals so well, I feel like I’m back on a set of a movie,” said Mr. Minutillo, who is also a professional actor and has seen his share of motion picture sets. “Every year, these parents just keep outdoing themselves. We never have to worry about the kids going out anymore, which was always a worry of mine, and they’re eating incredibly healthy. It’s just great.”

Along with tons of comfort food, kids were also treated to a variety of theme-night menus that included authentic Polish, Spanish, Italian and Mexican cuisine. This Tuesday, in honor of St. Patrick’s Day, lots of Irish corned beef and cabbage were dished out.

Nicolas Casaula, who stars as Jean Valjean in “Les Misérables,” said his mother, Dorcas Casaula, recently hosted a Greek night. The 18-year-old senior, who plans to pursue a career in acting, said he was thrilled to share the recipes that he grew up with, while also enjoying an assortment of food that he had never tasted before.

“We’re Italian, but my family loves Greek food, and it’s been a huge staple while I was growing up that I wanted to share with the rest of the cast,” Nicolas said. “As I said, I grew up eating mostly Italian and Greek food all my life, but I’ve never really had Polish food or Swedish meatballs before, so it’s been a pretty big eye-opener.”

But when Eastport South Manor thespians are done hunkering down with a good meal, they eagerly get back to engulfing their filling rehearsal schedule. Mr. Minutillo said he knows he asks a great deal of his student actors, but said they are always hungry to learn what real acting is all about.

“I try to emulate a professional setup as much as I possibly can,” Mr. Minutillo said. “The kids do work very hard and they do put in a lot of hours because they want to be the best they can be and they want the show to be the very best it can be.”

“Les Misérables,” which is colloquially known as “Les Mis” or “Les Miz,” was composed in 1980 by French composer Claude-Michel Schonberg, with a libretto by Alain Boublil. One the most performed musicals worldwide, the Tony Award-winning show features a number of memorable songs, including “Castle On A Cloud,” “I Dreamed a Dream,” “One Day More,” “A Heart Full of Love” and “Bring Him Home.”

Set in early 19th-century France, the play follows the intertwining stories of a cast of characters as they struggle for redemption and revolution. The main characters are joined by an ensemble that includes prostitutes, student revolutionaries and factory workers railing against a corrupt, greedy and inept government.

Mr. Minutillo said that it was a quirky coincidence that school producers chose “Les Misérables” for this year’s production in the midst of a crumbling economy. He said “Les Miz” was this year’s choice because the school had the strong student voices needed for the demanding roles.

Among those voices are the tenor strains of Joseph Sergio. The 18-year-old senior plays the sinister Inspector Javert, who is trying to expose Jean Valjean, the mayor of the French village of Vigau, as an escaped convict.

Joseph plans to attend Manhattanville College in Purchase, New York this fall to study musical theater. He noted that his time at Eastport South Manor has given him a solid glimpse into the rigors of a life in the theater.

“I get up for school at about 6 in the morning and usually don’t get home until 10 or 11 at night,” he said. “But I’m used to it, and I love it. I couldn’t see myself doing anything else.”

“Les Misérables” opens on Friday, March 20, at 7 p.m., and is followed by another evening performance on Saturday, March 21, also at 7 p.m. The show concludes with a matinee on Sunday at 2 p.m. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students and senior citizens. The school is located at 543 Moriches-Middle Island Road in Manorville. For more information, call 874-6500.