Mater Dei Prep Seraph Players Perform Musical for Union Beach Students

“You’re different, just like everyone else.” That’s the message the award-winning Mater Dei Prep Seraph Players sent to kindergarten through 5th grade students of Union Beach’s Memorial Elementary School this past Friday when they performed Freckleface Strawberry the Musical at Memorial’s temporary home, Holy Family School.

The show, about a seven year old girl with lots of freckles, is based on the book series by acclaimed actress Julianne Moore.  The Seraph Players previously performed the show to sold-out audiences at the Middletown Arts Center the weekend of January 25.  Looking to give back to a community that has supported them so often through the years, The Seraph Players decided Memorial’s
students deserved a treat after being uprooted from their school building since
superstorm Sandy.

Memorial School began utilizing the Holy Family School facilities on Highway 36 in Hazlet just after the New Year.  The gym was the perfect gathering place for the students to enjoy the hour-long production with its mild anti-bullying message and pop/rock score.  After the performance, the actors mingled with the students, answering their questions and posing for photographs.

Mater Dei Prep Senior Catherine Cahill as Freckleface Strawberry told the children she enjoys “being able to act like a seven year old.”  She explained that she loves how the show promotes the idea that “it doesn’t matter what you look like, you can always have friends.”  The children seemed to love the high-energy dancing, including an especially fun number involving basketballs.  In addition to great choreography, the show featured a giant book as the set, which wowed the crowd when the pages actually turned.