Before each showing of Pegasus Production Company’s spring musical, Louder Than Words, faculty director Mr. Marcos Orozco ’01 introduced his company with some poignant, yet realistic words.

He told the in-person and streaming audience that “these kids wanted their spring musical” and it was going to be “really hard” to make happen.

With some creativity and proactiveness, Pegasus completed its goal of producing a spring musical. In fact, they ended up writing the musical themselves.

Longtime choreographer Ms. Christina Rak took on writing responsibilities and music director Mr. Christian Lopez selected and arranged the music. Together, they crafted a show to fit both the students’ abilities and COVID-19 limitations. Louder Than Words was born and brought to life by talented young men and women.

“The students were the champions and our biggest supporters in overcoming those limitations,” Orozco said. “I couldn’t be more proud of how they handled the situation and their ability to ‘pull it off’ speaks volumes to their commitment.”

A production of an original show helped Pegasus with the ability to obtain rights for flexible dates and the ability to livestream. By writing their own show, they only had to secure the rights to the music that was played.

The first-ever Pegasus original production followed a group of young adults that found themselves at the same coffee shop on open mic night. Of course, plenty of good music followed, including hits from famous musicals and iconic bands.

“We have had a lot of fun [with this original show],” said Sal Puma ’21, who played one of the male leads. “It was a lot easier in terms of interpretation. It was the first show I have ever done where you get to actively decide what the story is.”

To make the show a reality, every student in the company needed to work together to overcome any hurdles. Senior Andrew Guarino, who leads Pegasus’ student management team and works on the stage crew, was grateful of new and returning faces that stepped up.

“I was most impressed by how little of I needed to get involved at points, especially after we lost such a big senior class last year and weren’t able to recruit a ton because of COVID,” Guarino said. “We had some freshmen really step up for tech, in what is probably our most technically demanding show yet due to the livestream.”

The audience in Henderson Theater was limited to 50 individuals, who were socially distanced regardless of if they purchased tickets together. The livestream allowed company supporters to watch the show from the comfort of their own home.

The combination of an original production and a first-time livestream effort were things that certainly needed extra attention.

“We hadn’t done it, we didn’t know what it would look like and we didn’t want to spend months of our lives on something that wasn’t going to be quality,” Orozco said. “We were able to make their characters our own and work with the students to change the story and dialogue. Being able to work with the students and the playwright in that way was such a unique and fun experience.”

The success of Louder Than Words comes after the company was able to put on its fall drama, Twelve Angry Jurors. Both shows involved masked actors and actresses, with reduced scene changes and no intermission.

In a year when many theaters were dark, the accomplishment of pulling off two shows is something to certainly be proud of.

“It’s been a weird year, so I’m just happy that were we able to get new people and do these shows,” Guarino said. “Collectively, this one of the best groups I’ve ever worked with, having been part of Pegasus for four years.”