![“I wasn't discouraged by some of the obstacles we faced. I learned a lot from the leadership. I found that different people need different ways of receiving feedback — you can't [just] tell them to do something and expect the best. [Some] people needed more incentive. A large part of my role was to figure out what worked for everyone and to figure out how to lead all these separate individuals as a team,” Suhana Bhandare (’26) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/SuhanaBhandare_JasmineHansra-1-1200x798.jpg)
![“This is actually from Randy Pausch Randy P. Brick: ‘Walls are there for a reason. You have to show how much you want to overcome them.’ You have to show how much you want something. That's what I've always been able to do with tennis, Link Crew and getting that internship [with Kushy Baby]. It’s important pushing through that — getting around that brick wall, climbing over it or clawing through it,” Yash Sachdeva (’26) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/YashSachdeva_RamBatchu-copy-1200x1002.jpg)
![“[Building nerf blasters] became this outlet of creativity for me that hasn't been matched by anything else. The process [of] making a build complete to your desire is such a painstakingly difficult process, but I've had to learn from [the skills needed from] soldering to proper painting. There's so many different options for everything, if you think about it, it exists. The best part is [that] if it doesn't exist, you can build it yourself," Ishaan Parate said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/DSC_8149-900x604.jpg)
![“When I came into high school, I was ready to be a follower. But DECA was a game changer for me. It helped me overcome my fear of public speaking, and it's played such a major role in who I've become today. To be able to successfully lead a chapter of 150 students, an officer team and be one of the upperclassmen I once really admired is something I'm [really] proud of,” Anvitha Tummala ('21) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-25-at-9.50.05-AM-900x594.png)
![“I think getting up in the morning and having a sense of purpose [is exciting]. I think without a certain amount of drive, life is kind of obsolete and mundane, and I think having that every single day is what makes each day unique and kind of makes life exciting,” Neymika Jain (12) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Screen-Shot-2017-06-03-at-4.54.16-PM.png)
![“My slogan is ‘slow feet, don’t eat, and I’m hungry.’ You need to run fast to get where you are–you aren't going to get those championships if you aren't fast,” Angel Cervantes (12) said. “I want to do well in school on my tests and in track and win championships for my team. I live by that, [and] I can do that anywhere: in the classroom or on the field.”](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/DSC5146-900x601.jpg)
![“[Volleyball has] taught me how to fall correctly, and another thing it taught is that you don’t have to be the best at something to be good at it. If you just hit the ball in a smart way, then it still scores points and you’re good at it. You could be a background player and still make a much bigger impact on the team than you would think,” Anya Gert (’20) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AnnaGert_JinTuan_HoHPhotoEdited-600x900.jpeg)
![“I'm not nearly there yet, but [my confidence has] definitely been getting better since I was pretty shy and timid coming into Harker my freshman year. I know that there's a lot of people that are really confident in what they do, and I really admire them. Everyone's so driven and that has really pushed me to kind of try to find my own place in high school and be more confident,” Alyssa Huang (’20) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AlyssaHuang_EmilyChen_HoHPhoto-900x749.jpeg)
“This is Urinetown”: Spring musical “Urinetown” delves into a drenched world
Bobby Strong, played by Mathew Mammen (12), leads a team of rebels in the first act’s finale number in the musical “Urinetown.” The cast performed four shows from March 28 to March 30 in the Patil Theater.
April 11, 2019
With the house lights in the Patil Theater dimmed, Performing Arts Director Laura Lang-Ree exclaims from the back row of the orchestra seats, “Alright, take it to the top of the show!” Hearing these words, the cast, scattered around the stage, transforms from relaxed high school students to actors and actresses settling into their respective roles, scurrying to their places among the pipes and blocks on stage to await the start of the first act. As Communications Manager Catherine Snider strikes out the first notes of the opening song on the piano, the magic begins.
Directed by Lang-Ree and written by Greg Kotis and Mark Hollmann, “Urinetown” tells of a dystopian town suffering from severe drought and struggling to survive. The citizens of this town attempt to conserve water by banning private toilets and forcing everyone to pay to use public restrooms.
“I first saw ‘Urinetown’ in 2006 at a Fringe festival to see if I wanted Harker to perform it. I was instantly blown away,” said Lang-Ree, “It’s a whole other genre of musicals—it’s not only hilarious and super fun, but it is also a highly political satire. That was really compelling to me, to get into not only a great musical, but to have interesting conversations with the cast and the audience.”
Performance dates will be from Thursday, March 27 to Saturday, March 29 in the RPAC.
Some scenes that the performers look forward to are the poignant yet humorous songs.
“[My favorite moment is] in act one. It’s a very grand, determined musical number, but everything about it is also kind of ridiculous,” said Emmy Huchley (12), who plays the female lead Hope Cladwell. “A lot of the numbers in this show are references to other musicals, and [this] number refers to Les Miserables.”
Auditions for the musical began in September, and those auditioning prepared one monologue from the musical and one song of their choice, then learned a dance to perform.
“[The audition process] was definitely very nerve wracking, but we’re all nervous together, so it became a bonding experience,” said Meghna Phalke (12), who plays one of the villains, Senator Flipp. “No one is trying to tear each other down, even though that’s what you’d expect. Instead, everyone is really supportive of each other—it’s amazing.”
Rehearsals began in mid-January, with each day targeted towards singing, dancing or scene work.
“For acting rehearsals, we typically start with a game and get some information about what’s going on, and if it’s a musical number that we’re doing, we warm up at the piano,” said first time performer Josh Field (9), who plays a Urine Good Company executive. “Then we go bit by bit, blocking and making sure everything is clean, [and] we just go through it until everything’s good enough.”
Unlike last year’s musical, “Urinetown” is less flashy and smaller to fit the stage at the Fringe Festival in Scotland, where the upper school will be performing this summer. Harker attends the festival every four years so that each class has a chance to perform there once. The limited space and time at the venue to set up means that the staging will be altered.
“In Scotland, we’ll probably have a couple of ramps, a couple of platforms and an acting block or two, but nothing quite as big as we’re going to have here,” production manager Brian Larsen said.
