Marching Unit Takes the Field for 2022 Season; Field Show Tells Dramatic Story of Marie Antoinette

It’s physical.

It’s competitive.

It teaches life and social skills.

It makes great music.

It is the Boyertown Area Senior High (BASH) Marching Unit, and the 2022-23 edition has been working hard to meet these challenges.

That work began when marching unit members returned to school for a two-week band camp in early August. Brian Langdon, in his 10th year as BASH band director, runs a challenging program and sets high expectations. “The kids were there Mondays through Thursdays from noon to 9:00 p.m.,” Langdon shares. “During that time, they worked on marching and music skills and learned about half of our new show,” he reports.

While students work hard in the hot summer sun, they clearly feel the effort is worth it. Junior drum major Natalia Bradley says, "Camp this year was very inspirational. Seeing all these different personalities come together to accomplish one big thing is amazing.” Ashley Sandberg, senior drum major agrees: “Camp this year was so amazing! I got to talk and connect with new people. I got to strengthen relationships and make so many new ones. I was so excited to see the show take form, and the personality of the band show through.”

Happily, it isn’t all hard work. Senior drum major Ryleigh Ehst spills the beans, explaining, “Camp this year was unforgettable. We were able to dress up for spirit days, learn tons of new music, eat lots of great food, have dance parties, play kickball, get closer with friends, … and get almost 3 minutes of our show on the field.” Sandberg confesses, “A highlight would be the quick water breaks. That's where so many jokes and funny shenanigans happen." All three drum majors agree that it is gratifying to form friendships and work together to produce the show.

These days marching units do indeed produce shows. Langdon describes it as “adding a theatrical component to marching techniques that have a deep-rooted tradition.” Langdon has seen the style of marching units “get away from the more military approach.”

He recalls that the marching style began to change during his early years at BASH, and he points to the incorporation of electronic instruments on the field as a major turning point. “Each year things evolve and I try to go after some cool and exciting new ideas on the marching field. In the end,” he says, “it is Broadway musical meets marching band.”

Marie

This year’s show is entitled, “Marie”—the Marie in question being the last queen of France before the French Revolution, Marie Antoinette. At just 14 years old, Marie, an Archduchess of Austria, was betrothed to Louis, the heir to the French throne. She proved to be an unpopular queen, partly because she was an “outsider,” but the commoners also resented her expensive taste and lavish spending while they struggled to put food on their tables. In the end, in 1793 the French monarchy was abolished, and King Louis XVI was executed by the guillotine. Some months later, Marie was convicted of treason and met the same end.

Inspiration for new field shows comes from some interesting places. Langdon shares that he thought of the concept of a marching unit show based on Marie’s life during the previous school year. He recalls: “One morning I was sitting on a school bus taking students to County Band rehearsal and it was early, so the kids were half asleep and quiet. Maybe I was hungry …; the word ‘cake’ came into my thoughts. And then I thought of the well-known expression, ‘Let them eat cake’.”

Supposedly uttered by Marie Antoinette in 1789, during one of the French Revolution’s famines, the comment was Marie’s retort to the peasants who complained about starvation. The expression was intended to portray her insensitivity to the realities of life outside her privileged class. However, history reveals that Marie was falsely accused… at least with regard to making this comment. Whatever the truth, thinking about this quote, Langdon recalled seeing a show about Marie, performed by a different marching group and he decided it would be an interesting challenge.

“Marie,” the field show, can be thought of as a book with several chapters. The prologue introduces Marie. Chapter one depicts her betrothal to Louis and her arrival at the Palace of Versailles. Langdon continues, “Chapter two shows Marie as queen, living her best life. Food, fashion, anything she wanted was hers, but the French people ridiculed her and expressed their distaste.”

Chapter three shows the start of the Revolution. Langdon notes that this chapter is musically exciting as it includes a percussion feature in which the percussion section plays the role of the revolutionaries. The chapter ends with Marie’s trial and the resulting guilty verdict. The show concludes with Marie being marched off to her execution.

Marie’s story is told through a diverse selection of music, beginning with Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 and Berlioz’s Symphony Fantastique. As she is crowned Queen, the pace picks up with Sia’s pop rock hit Chandelier and Incubus’s Megalomaniac. The show concludes with her demise to Edvard Grieg’s Funeral March.

Langdon explains that the show, which he says is somewhat inspired by Broadway’s “Hamilton” in its focus on one historic figure, has many challenges. “Any time you do a storyline around a centralized character, you have to make sure the story is told effectively, but you only have seven minutes and you don’t want the movement to become too stagnant,” he observes.

“Producing a theatrical production of this magnitude outside on a field adds to the challenge. Our set pieces include a 15-foot circular stage that rotates and nine rotating screens that are 10 feet tall and 15 feet wide. Each screen is a backdrop for a different stage of Marie’s life,” Langdon describes.

The whole show will come together under the lights at BASH Memorial Stadium during performances at home football games, as well as at the Arlen R. Saylor Cavalcade of Bands on September 24. Langdon is excited for the marching unit to tell the story of Marie’s life and take the show on the road to upcoming competitions.

Student Leaders and Staff

The Captains of the BASH Marching Unit include: Woodwind Captain Alyssa Tulli; Assistant Woodwind Captain Jacob Ernst; Brass Captain Matt Desimone; Assistant Brass Captain Chad Rothfelder; Color Guard Captain MaryAnn Leshinskie; Battery Captain Christian Scott; Front Ensemble Captain Lizzy Harner; and Field Crew Captain Joe McCracken.

Staff includes: assistant director and percussion arranger Steve Yoder; music designers Brian Langdon and Steve Yoder; drill designer Justin McAdams; visual designer Kevin O’Brien; audio designer Nathan Bashline; audio engineer Megan Rutter; and program consultant Paul Cullen.

Also, color guard designer Melissa Reese, assisted by color guard instructors Caroline Puleo, Victoria Fine, Lia Lalli and Kris Jimenez. The front ensemble staff includes Caleb Pendleton, Nicholas Coppock, Alex Overholtzer, and Danny Ogden. The music and visual instructors include Amanda Ehst, Stephanie Rinda, Megan Fox, and Rachel Schwab. The drum majors are Ryleigh Ehst. Ashley Sandberg, and Natalia Bradley.

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