Straw and Tin: Freshmen Steal the Spotlight

When it comes to casting for shows and musicals, seniors usually have bigger roles for their final year at Charlotte Catholic. However, freshmen Aaron Quintero and Will Oakes have found their way into the spotlight in this year’s spring musical, The Wizard of Oz. Will will play the Tinman, and Aaron will play the Scarecrow. 

Both freshmen have experience on stage. Will’s first ever role in the Charlotte Catholic theater was Mr. Smith in Meet Me in St. Louis. This was not Will’s first time on the stage because he played the comedic Duke of Wesselton in Holy Trinity Middle School’s production of Frozen.

“Playing the Tinman is a big step up from my former roles,” said Will. “Before this, I only had to memorize my lines and a couple of songs. Now, I spend a lot more of my time memorizing all the songs, the choreography, and the immense number of lines in the script.” While most other actors may be intimidated by this jump in difficulty, Will finds he can just “wing it,” and easily memorize his lines.

Will Oakes (Left) and Aaron Quintero (Right) after a long rehearsal.

Another freshman, Aaron Quintero, is stealing the spotlight with his role as the Scarecrow. He is one of the actors in the show with the most amount of stage time and lines. “It was quite a large leap and learning experience,” said Aaron, “but if you truly put in the work, everyone can do it.”

Both Aaron and Will are massive theater fans outside of school as well. Aside from theater, Aaron can also be seen singing at St. Gabe’s during masses, along with Amelia Quintero, who plays Glinda the Good Witch, Campus Minister Mr. Quintero, and their mother Mrs. Quintero, who is helping out with the singing aspects of the musical and is one of the three new choir teachers. “If we could do any musical at school, I would love to do Les Miserables,” said Aarron, who has already done Les Miserables in a previous performance. Will also said that his favorite musical is Les Miserables.

While it might seem like giving these larger than life roles to two freshmen is a mistake, both Aaron and Will have proven themselves to be up for the challenge and ready for any obstacles that come their way.