Wonderful Town, Hunterdon Central High School’s 2026 musical about community, adventure, resilience, and ambition, has come to a close. Written by Leonard Bernstein, Wonderful Town focuses on a writer and performer chasing their dreams and “conquering New York,” bringing themes of self-expression, confidence, and the importance of pursuing dreams to audiences. This month’s Senior Spotlight focuses on the leads, Piper Berkowitz, who played Ruth and has had leading roles at Hunterdon Central since her freshman year as the Stepmother in Cinderella, and Kaitlyn Osborne, who played Eileen and is Hunterdon Central’s Thespian Society’s Vice President.
What does theatre mean to you?
Piper: Theatre means so much to me. I have always felt so comfortable on stage and like I could truly be myself. Theatre has always been the way for me to express my feelings, whether happy or sad, and it has remained an outlet.
Kaitlyn: I was never a super-confident, loud person, and because of theatre, I’m now a super-loud person. I gained more confidence. I gained the ability to talk better. I wasn’t much of a talker, but now I can talk to anyone. I love everything about it. It’s been a safe place for me. It’s comfortable. It’s fun. It’s just where you can feel free. I love going to rehearsal and feeling no judgment, because everyone’s equally as loud, everyone’s equally as annoying. It’s just been where I have fun, and a really safe place.
What got you into doing theatre, and how long have you been performing for?
Piper: I got into theatre when I was around ten years old. My first ever role was actually Rumplestiltskin at Music Mountain Theatre, and I will forever be grateful, because since that role I have been doing theatre for seven years and am committed to college for Musical Theatre. The people within the theatre have always been very supportive of me and have constantly helped keep everyone on top of their game.
Kaitlyn: I’ve done theatre since I was about six years old. I got into theatre because of my church, which had shows. I played Miriam. My sister did it too. That’s where she started, so that’s where I started too.
Why is arts education or theatre education important?
Piper: The arts are important. The arts will always be important. As someone who has been in the arts since a young age, they have changed me into who I am today. Without the arts, we have lost so much that makes the world good. You can’t replace theatre with AI. You can’t replace the human connection that theatre prompts. When cutting budgets schools always get rid of the arts first, but if they knew how many kids lived through the arts, I think they might rethink.
Kaitlyn: Theatre education is so important because even if you don’t go into it, the skills you take from doing theatre are way more important than anyone makes it seem. I feel like this generation has a hard time speaking loudly, or speaking at all, and especially making eye contact. Through theatre you’re forced to be big, you’re forced to talk loudly. You’re never going to beat a theatre kid in a presentation, because they can talk forever, and they know how to talk loudly with eye contact, and they know how not to mumble. That’s just something you can’t afford not to have, in any field you can go into.
Both of these performers will be competing at Bucks County on April 7th for Troupe 3035. If you want to see these actors perform before leaving Central, you can catch them on April 24th for the Competition Showcase, and later on May 29th for the End of Year Showcase.
