The TheatreWorks actors are rehearsing a play unlike any they've done before. Next weekend, they will perform The Women of Lockerbie, about the downing of Pan Am flight 103 in Scotland in 1988.

The players are no stranger to serious topics. Last year, they staged the Arthur Miller classic The Crucible, about the Salem witch trials. But The Women of Lockerbie depicts the aftermath of a catastrophe that many in the audience will remember.

"That makes it ten times more intense," said senior Jamie Cantone. She plays a mother, distraught with grief, who travels to Scotland with her husband to find some sign of the son they lost.

"It made them treat the material with more respect," said Dan Browne, the director. A history teacher at NRHS, Browne took the opportunity to teach the students about the event. He also showed them a BBC documentary on the topic.

"It's also a story of healing," said senior Maddie Bamberger, who plays Hattie, a maid to an American diplomat.

It's an ambitious play, written in verse, and Browne said the actors have put in the extra effort to make it come together.

"I liked the play because it is so heavily character-driven," Browne said. "It's an actors' play. They have worked at it like champs."

It calls for a simple set, but Browne has been ambitious in that area as well, representing a river with a trough of actual water.

"The Women of Lockerbie" plays Thursday, Nov. 21 through Saturday, Nov. 23, at 7:30 p.m. all three days.

A pioneering pilot, a groundbreaking chemist and the longtime director of the Alternative Campus School in the City School District of New Rochelle, joined the New Rochelle High School Wall of Fame this week.

"It's always a source of pride to see the alumni on our Wall of Fame," said Interim Principal Joseph Stavaggi at an unveiling ceremony in the House II stack area on Wednesday.

The inductees were:

Dr. William Klemperer , class of 1944. A physical chemist, Dr. Klemperer was a world leader in the field of molecular spectroscopy (the study of light absorption by molecules). He was also a former NASA adviser.

Stephanie Wallach , c lass of 1964. Wallach was among the first female commercial airline pilots and is a co-founder of the International Society of Women Airline Pilots.

  

Joel Fridovich , class of 1970. Fridovich helped start the Alternative Campus School for the City School District of New Rochelle. He served as the Campus School's director from its start 28 years ago until his retirement in June.

Some of Fridovich's former students attended the ceremony. Fridovich thanked the colleagues and others he met over the years, and gave a special thank you to his students who had let him into their lives.

"I have been made better as a result," Fridovich said. "I will always cherish and appreciate all of you."

New Rochelle Board of Education President Amy Moselhi praised Fridovich for his service to the District.

"We thank Mr. Fridovich for starting the Alternative Campus School," she said. "It serves as a setting for students who find it to be a better teaching and learning environment. It is our goal to build on his vision and to move the students to a state of the art facility."

Wallach said she was humbled to join other luminaries on the Wall of Fame, which actually lines two walls along a hallway off the House II stack area.

"I can't think of a nicer honor," she said.

Dr. Klemperer was honored posthumously. His daughter, Joyce Klemperer, attended to express gratitude for the designation.

"New Rochelle was an important time for my father," she said. "I know he enjoyed his years here."

Superintendent Dr. Laura Feijóo said she was impressed by the inductees and the other members on the wall, spotlighting leaders in the sciences, performing arts, business and more.

"It's an attribute of the high school to have so many great people come from here," she said. "It speaks to the hard work and dedication of all the educators and family members and community members over the years."

Nominations for next year's inductees will be open from Dec. 1, 2019 until May 31, 2020. Instructions on how to nominate alumni will be posted on the District's and NRHS' websites.

The Huguenots return to Mahopac tomorrow to take on Utica Proctor in the a state regional championship.

 

The New Rochelle High School varsity football team is still undefeated. Tomorrow, the New Rochelle High School varsity football team, still undefeated, heads to Mahopac to take on Carmel High School in the Class AA finals.

 

Having finished the regular season with a 7-0 record, the Huguenots won the quarterfinal playoff game, defeating Arlington 42-7. They then defeated John Jay East Fishkill 38-14 in the semifinal.

 

Last Saturday, they defeated Carmel High School 42-14.

 

Tomorrow's game begins at 5 p.m. at Mahopac High School, 421 Baldwin Place Road, Mahopac.

The annual Thanksgiving Pancake Breakfast and Parade are coming next week, on Nov. 23, and there's a new route for the procession.

The parade will start, as always, at North Avenue and Eastchester Road at 10 a.m., by the Huguenot Children's Library. It will proceed 1.5 miles straight down North Avenue, through downtown to Bonnefoy Place. (It will not turn onto Main Street as in the past.) It is sponsored by the New Rochelle Chamber of Commerce.

The pancake breakfast comes first. All the pancakes you can eat for $5. The annual event, a fundraiser for the New Rochelle Fund for Educational Excellence, will start at 8 a.m. in the House 4 cafeteria of New Rochelle High School, at the entrance off Braemar and North avenues. It ends at 9:30 a.m., in time to start lining up for the parade.