RAN - Summer 2005 08.indd - Regis High School

Summer 2005 7
Regis Repertory:
A Year In Review
by Kevin Bowles ‘05
It has been said that the Regis Repertory is an activity that gives everyone the chance to shine, to be
a star, be it on the stage, in the ticket booth, designing programs, applying makeup, building sets,
or performing in the orchestra, and Regis audiences are continually given extremely professional and
superlative performances that never fail to satisfy even the greatest theatergoer’s hunger for good
drama. In another spectacular year the Repertory proved all of these statements true with its lavish
production of “The Scarlet Pimpernel” and the powerfully heartrending and evocative performance
of “Romeo and Juliet.”
The gifted directorial duo of Tom Kenney and Laurie Haller, both heading to new jobs this fall, made
their debut with “The Scarlet Pimpernel” working side by side with the exceptional creative team of
veterans Jim Phillips, Kris Cupillari, Cristie Tursi, and George Watson. The roof-raising orchestrations
and singing, phenomenal acting—particularly of stars Jeffrey Morris and Lacey Gutekunst, and the
professional costumes, sets and lighting astounded students, faculty, friends and family as “The
Scarlet Pimpernel”, a breathless adventure story filled with love, sacrifice, loyalty, and deception and
set in the dark time of the French Revolution, was brought to the Regis stage.
In a grand directorial finale, the exceptionally accomplished Meg Sturiano brought the words of
William Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” to life in a magical and innovative way in the round,
performing on the theater’s floor. The tragic drama of star-crossed young lovers, starring the gifted
underclassman Tully McLoughlin and the beautiful Caroline Giuliani, supported by an incredible cast
of players, brought the audience laughter and tears and later brought them to their feet in heartfelt
standing ovations during each of the five performances.
The year marked many sad curtain calls for the Regis Rep, as the school bids farewell not only to the
incomparable Meg Sturiano after her sixth show, but also directors Tom Kenney and Laurie Haller, as
well as a group of particularly talented and dedicated seniors, including Jeffrey Morris, Kevin Bowles,
David Grunner, Matt Barbot, Fiore Mastroianni, Dani Abatelli, and Emily Lirag. These farewells are made
with the proud confidence that the Regis Repertory will continue to thrive as it offers students and
teachers a place to come together and create a world of magic, music, drama and dreams on stage.
Above: Juliet (Caroline Giuliani) and Romeo
(Tully McLoughlin) look out over fair Verona (the
Regis auditorium) in a scene from the Regis Rep’s
Spring production of Romeo and Juliet.
Regis News & Notes
Kevin McCarthy, Regis class of 1985, was recently
selected by the Wall Street Journal Best of the Street
Survey as the number one chemical-industry analyst.
When the Regis Alumni News staff contacted Kevin
to congratulate him he was very modest saying,
“Broken clocks are right twice a day. In my business
you’re lucky to be right twice a year.” Well Kevin was
indeed right twice this year – in a very big way. The
following is the text from the Wall Street Journal
article which cites Kevin for his achievement.
The top performing chemical-industry analysts in
this year’s Best on the Street survey made a good
bet: Strong demand for commodity chemicals
would more than offset the high cost of energy,
which the industry uses for feedstock and to power
its plants.
Kevin W. McCarthy of Bank of America Corp.’s
Banc of America Securities unit in New York made
a smart call on Lyondell Chemical Co., a maker of
plastic resin, rating it a “buy” from July through
the end of the year. Lyondell returned 77% for
the period. Westlake Chemical Corp., which Mr.
McCarthy recommended in September, returned
59% between then and the end of the year.
“Chemicals are a cyclical commodity,” says Mr.
McCarthy, the No. 1 chemicals analyst in this
year’s rankings. “The question is, at what point do
manufacturers gain pricing power?”
Mr. McCarthy watches utilization rates -- how much
manufacturing capacity chemical companies use.
Last year manufacturers were producing at more
than 90% of capacity; two key plants had closed
the year before, and the remaining operations
were ramping up to meet booming demand.
Those high rates signaled to Mr. McCarthy that the
chemical companies had the upper hand with their
customers.
The 37-year-old analyst made an even better
call on niche player Monsanto Co., which he
recommended for the entire year, as it returned
96%. The company achieved significant price
increases for its corn and soybean seeds in 2004,
he says. In addition, Brazil took big steps to allow
its farmers to use Monsanto’s genetically modified
soybeans.
For 2005, with growth in the demand for
commodity chemicals expected to slow a bit, Mr.
McCarthy is again looking to Monsanto; he expects
its earnings to grow at an average annual rate
of 20% over the next five years. “There’s a rich
pipeline of products,” he says.