Pedro's Open Mic: 26 things seen and heard on a night to sing out

Peter D. Kramer, Rockland/Westchester Journal News
·2 min read

Those who packed into Harrison High School for Pedro's Open Mic 2024 on Saturday saw and heard plenty, as theater kids from Westchester, Rockland and Putnam high schools performed highlights from their musicals for a few hundred screaming fans.

The partnership between the Harrison Central School District and The Journal News/lohud produced a night full of memories to cap a musical season across the Lower Hudson Valley.

Live on lohud: Who'll be nominated for Metro Awards? Webcast announcement set for Tuesday night

"Seasons of Love," from Rent, sung by all the participants, with solos by Alexis Kahn and Charles Garcia from Putnam Valley's Rent. during Pedro's Open Mic at the Harrison Performing Arts Center at Harrison High School, May 11, 2024.
"Seasons of Love," from Rent, sung by all the participants, with solos by Alexis Kahn and Charles Garcia from Putnam Valley's Rent. during Pedro's Open Mic at the Harrison Performing Arts Center at Harrison High School, May 11, 2024.

Here's a double-baker's-dozen list of what was seen and heard:

  • A singing reporter; Donna & the Dynamos reunited (with friends); a boy, a girl and a followed heart; a guide to finding a crew in high school; nervous daughters fretting fiancés; a boy looking skyward; a double-duty duet;

  • A changed bookworm; a fierce game of name-that-Disney-tune; a tough girl showing her soft heart; an accompanist on fire, his tip jar getting a workout; a boy with energy to burn and girls looking for more; a girl newly in love; a depressed Addams patriarch;

  • An invisible husband; a girl, her girl and a flippered dance break; a baker's wife in a whirl; a ferocious game of hot potato; a junior executive's pep talk; a mermaid wanting more;

  • A couple contemplating the loss of more than rent; a would-be sister finding a haven; former foes finding their finale; an actual finale; a crowd wowed; and a tradition renewed.

Metro nominations webcast

The nominations for the 2024 Metro Awards, honoring participating musicals across the Lower Hudson Valley, will be announced in a live webcast on lohud.com at 7 p.m., May 14. The awards will be bestowed in a ceremony at Purchase College PAC on June 10.

Sam Corry sings "I Believe in You" from Carmel's "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying" during Pedro's Open Mic at the Harrison Performing Arts Center at Harrison High School, May 11, 2024.
Sam Corry sings "I Believe in You" from Carmel's "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying" during Pedro's Open Mic at the Harrison Performing Arts Center at Harrison High School, May 11, 2024.
Calvin Lindo, right, and Ryan Diaz sing "Stuck Together (Strange But True)" from Archbishop Stepinac's "Catch Me If You Can" during Pedro's Open Mic at the Harrison Performing Arts Center at Harrison High School, May 11, 2024.
Calvin Lindo, right, and Ryan Diaz sing "Stuck Together (Strange But True)" from Archbishop Stepinac's "Catch Me If You Can" during Pedro's Open Mic at the Harrison Performing Arts Center at Harrison High School, May 11, 2024.
Akayla Morris, Deloris from Ossining's "Sister Act," reprises the show's title song, during Pedro's Open Mic at the Harrison Performing Arts Center at Harrison High School, May 11, 2024.
Akayla Morris, Deloris from Ossining's "Sister Act," reprises the show's title song, during Pedro's Open Mic at the Harrison Performing Arts Center at Harrison High School, May 11, 2024.
Eliana Panoff, from Suffern, sings "Moments in the Woods" from "Into the Woods" during Pedro's Open Mic at the Harrison Performing Arts Center at Harrison High School, May 11, 2024.
Eliana Panoff, from Suffern, sings "Moments in the Woods" from "Into the Woods" during Pedro's Open Mic at the Harrison Performing Arts Center at Harrison High School, May 11, 2024.

Reach Peter D. Kramer at pkramer@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Westchester, Rockland, Putnam NY high school theater at Pedro's Open Mic