North and South chorus members fill the choir room with bursts of chatter. Co-director Andrew Wallace steps in, conversation dies down and all the loosely-scattered students suddenly shift their attention towards him. On Wallace’s cue, a harmonious melody takes over as every soprano, bass, tenor and alto bring the music score to life.

This is a typical rehearsal scene for this year’s Glenbrook musical The Phantom of the Opera, directed by North directors Chad Davidson, Jackie Robinson and Wallace. According to Davidson, the decision for this year’s musical was a result of rights being released that were not previously available, along with the potential for a great show.

“We saw this as an opportunity to choose a show that would feature numerous students and have amazing audience appeal,” Davidson said. “After carefully weighing our options, Phantom seemed like the best choice for the Glenbrook musical.”

The story focuses on a love triangle between the Phantom, viscount Raoul Vicomte de Chagny and dancer Christine Daaé.

Daaé, played by South junior Katherine Loiselle and North senior Megan Orticelli, is given the opportunity of a lifetime as she becomes the replacement for leading lady Carlotta at the Paris Opera House. Carlotta is nearly killed with the fall of a backdrop, rumored to have been caused by the infamous “Phantom of the Opera”, played by South junior Tim Kirby and North junior Nathan Salstone.

On the opening night of Daaé’s performance, she is reunited with childhood friend Vicomte de Chagny, played by South junior Murray Campbell and North senior Aaron Kohrs.

The phantom turns out to be a brilliant composer who falls deeply in love with Daaé’s voice. He abducts her to his chambers in the depths of the Opera House and offers to write an opera for her.

In choosing roles, directors looked for vocally-oriented students.

“We always look for great singers when casting a musical,” Wallace said. “Our audition process focused primarily on singing.”

Loiselle benefited from this vocal focus.

“It’s nerve-wracking for me because I don’t act really,” Loiselle said. “I’ve always just been a vocalist, so I think it’s challenging [to act] but ultimately, I think it’ll be a better experience for me and for the audience.”

To get into character, the leads of the play referred to different versions of the musical.

“I have watched many versions of The Phantom of the Opera over and over again to get into character and learn all of the music,” Kirby said.

Not only are the leads invested in their roles, but they enjoy what they do.

“I think [my part] is really fun,” Campbell said. “I make [my character] my own but I make sure I [stick] to what the character is and what he believes in.”

In addition to the musical aspect, there are several factors that are involved with the musical.

“Right now, we have [vocal coaching, stage direction, choreography, orchestra preparation and set design and construction] working independently,” Wallace said. “When we put all of these moving parts together, it is so exciting.”

Though there is a lot of focus on acting and singing, the set takes just as much work.

“[…] One of the plot points involves the chandelier of the Paris Opera House crashing down on stage,” Wallace said. “Due to the wizardry of our technical director Joel Monaghan and our awesome crew, we’ll be able to replicate that on our stage.”

The musical works with many different elements, which Campbell describes as “an adventure”.

“I’ve played lead roles in the past but nothing as intense as this one, and so going through the whole process of learning all the music and the staging [has] been a ride,” Campbell said.

The Glenbrooks’ 25th musical production, The Phantom of the Opera, will be playing May 2-5. Tickets can be purchased online or at the counter.