On March 22, 2026, the cast and crew of Brighton Musical’s production of Disney’s “Frozen” wrapped up their seven-show run. After many months of hard work and late nights, the cast performed for an entirely sold-out auditorium. Tickets for all seven shows sold out well in advance of the opening night of March 13, meaning a total of 6,244 people came to see the talents and dedication of the 110 cast and crew members of “Frozen.”
The journey began with auditions and interviews in November, filling the creative team and cast with hopes and dreams for the coming season. From tech week, when theatrical magic brought the show to life, to opening night, when the cast heard the first audience cheer, the cast put in hours of work and dedication. The final show concluded with senior recognition—a closing night filled with tears and nostalgic “remember-whens” as the seniors looked back on how far they had come.
The senior recognitions occurred at the end of closing night, celebrating all seniors in the program, including on-stage, off-stage and orchestra pit members. The directors gave a speech in front of parents and friends about the accomplishments and memories from the previous four years and gave flower bouquets to all the seniors. Some seniors gave speeches in return to show their appreciation for the directors, making it a bittersweet night for both the seniors and the cast members who have worked alongside them. Every Brighton Musical cast is unique, bringing new performers into the spotlight, so senior recognition is not only a celebration of the upperclassmen but a symbolic passing of the torch to the underclassmen who will continue the legacy.
Four female seniors held significant roles in the cast both on and off stage: Elaina Barsaleau, Stephania Daksiewicz, Zoe Vermiglio-Smetanka and Violet Von Buskirk. This year, the seniors essentially got two concluding shows, as Vermiglio-Smetanka played the lead role of Elsa in the matinee show, and Barsaleau, the understudy for Elsa, stepped into the role in the evening on Sunday, March 22.
Barsaleau described her job as an understudy as “really difficult” because she had “a very limited amount of time to learn all of [her] blocking, all of [her] lines and all of [her] lyrics.” Since Barsaleau knew she would be going on as Elsa a few weeks in advance, she took the necessary extra steps to be prepared, like “showing up early to rehearsals and staying late at rehearsals and rehearsing through dinners, just to get enough time so that [she] was able to perform, and [she] learned [her] lines in class.” This is a lot of work to put into a role that requires technical memorization and blocking, for only one night of glory. However, Brasaleau said that the experience still “ended up being very rewarding.”
“I ended up getting to perform for a sold-out theater for my last show with Brighton Musical,” Barsaleau said.
Brighton Musical is an experience like no other at BHS. Many students grew up watching previous Brighton Musical performances and could only dream of being a part of them one day. Von Buskirk, who played the role of Bulda in “Frozen,” sympathized with this sentiment.
“Growing up, I always wanted to be a part of the shows. I watched my brother, and then from that first show, I saw him do great, and I always wanted to be a part of the program,” Von Buskirk said. “So the fact that I got to do it, and be a lead, and make so many friends along the way—oh, it is so special to me.”
Von Buskirk has had a very comprehensive run in the program, from playing the lead role of Taylor in “High School Musical” to her “favorite” role Countess Lily in “Anastasia” and finally Bulda in “Frozen.” Von Buskirk, like many others, is bittersweet about leaving the program but is thankful for the life lessons the musical program has taught her, like “working with other people” and being a leader in “pressure situations.”
Like Von Buskirk, Vermiglio-Smetanka has been in the Brighton Choirs program and watched many Brighton Musical productions before she was ever part of the program. She looked up to the musical leaders at the high school when she was younger, so she said that it is cathartic to think she is now the role model so many younger music students look up to. Vermiglio-Smetanka got her first experience as a lead role on the closing night of her sophomore show, “High School Musical,” when she got the opportunity at the last minute to go on as the role of Gabriella. In her junior year, Vermiglio-Smetanka earned the role of Anya in “Anastasia,” which she calls her favorite role because she “grew close with [her] co-leads Jack and Tyler.”
“They’re now my best friends still to this day, even though they both graduated,” Vermiglio-Smetanka said.
She added that it is a “gift” to give “this show to young kids like [her] cousin and [her] once were.” She said she used to be “entranced” by the members of Brighton Musical and that her favorite part of being in the program now is bringing “so much joy to people while also teaching wholesome lessons.”
Daksiewicz played the role of the second princess, Anna, in this production of “Frozen.” Balancing a role that significant, the tasks of senior year and the final memories of musicals can be daunting. Daksiewicz said that the most difficult part of the role was “the time commitment.” The student performers are extremely familiar with working under tight schedules and late nights, especially for those who have a role like Daksiewicz, whose character barely left the stage for the duration of the show.
“There is quite a bit of time and effort and energy that goes into the shows, but all in all, it’s what I love to do most, and I wouldn’t want to be spending my time doing anything else,” she said.
Because the cast spends so much time together, they have many opportunities to forge friendships and get comfortable with each other. Daksiewicz said that she’s “happy to have been able to be surrounded by supportive and kind people to help [her] through this great opportunity as a lead character.”
“[My] most memorable part about this journey I would have to say is everyone I got the chance to meet,” she added.
Those who have been in the program for three or four years, like all of these leading ladies, have had a lot of time to build relationships and become professionals by doing what they love.
“[There are] so many memories and lifelong friendships I get to have from this experience, and I wouldn’t want to change it for the world,” Daksiewicz said.
The curtain has closed on the final performance of “Frozen,” and the seniors have taken their last bow, but the memories they have made both on and off stage will last them a lifetime. Keeping with the lessons learned by her portrayed characters—Gabriella, Anya and Elsa—Vermiglio-Smetanka said that the thing she hopes all audience members and castmates take away from this experience is this: “home is where the heart is.”
