POULSBO — In the 1969 cinematic version of “Hello, Dolly!” lead actress Barbara Streisand’s gown in the famous Harmonia Gardens scene allegedly cost $8,000 and weighed a whopping 40 pounds.

And when the North Kitsap High School drama club opens that same production this weekend, chances are the attire worn by every one of the young thespians in the play won’t approach the price tag of Streisand’s.

However, each cast member in this local production knows that what has been put into costuming — and all work behind the scenes — is still invaluable.

The organization of a large-scale high school musical must be impeccable. And if there is a single student who can manage that position for NKHS this spring, it is junior and stage manager Sonya Swokowski.

“I’m one of the few they all have to listen to,” Swokowski joked about the cast and production crew. “But we’re all friends.”

While she began as a production assistant, Swokowski quickly moved up the ranks due to absences in higher positions. From ensuring the costumes fit to making sure all props on stage are in place, her job as stage manager is nothing short of rigorous.

“I’d say it’s a pretty crucial job,” she commented. “I’m always running back and forth somewhere.”

She did add that next time around for the drama club, she’ll try out for a part on the stage — instead of behind it.

But there are already many students who work both behind the production and on the stage. Two examples are Jacob Cole and Ryan De Gouvia.

Cole has been involved in the performing arts since eighth grade as an actor and is Rudolph Reiseweber in “Dolly.” But in this production, he also decided to get a feel for what working behind the scenes entailed.

“I wish to make theater my career,” Cole said. “So instead of being educated in just one part of it, why not be educated in another?”

De Gouvia, who plays Horace Vandergelder in “Dolly,” worked on the set as well. He said he appreciates most the fact that “… knowing what I did was very important to the success of the production.”

“I like that it looks realistic and a lot of the furniture was hand-made,” De Gouvia said of the set.

A tech club at the high school, advised by the district’s Career and Technical Education Direction Jim Noeldner and NKHS teacher David Leinweber, has been helping the drama production. The club meets every Wednesday.

The 40-foot by six-foot stage for “Dolly” was made in the NKHS shop and had to be transported to the auditorium. It took an entire afternoon to move. Three platforms were also used from last fall’s production of Arthur Miller’s “The Crucible.”

“This set is big,” Cole said. “It was proving to be a problem.”

Aside from the stage, much of the production’s success is also contingent upon how each character looks. And when it comes to the flamboyant and flashy “Dolly,” image is very important — something that costume director Kari Lehman is keenly aware of.

Lehman said for the boys, she has picked out a lot of plaid for tuxes and suits for the production. On the girls’ side, there is much in the way of Victorian Era formal vests and skirts.

Aside from the wardrobe direction, Lehman must also make sure each character’s costume is the appropriate size.

“If I wasn’t here, they’d end up with clothes that wouldn’t fit very well,” she said.

• Part 2 of this series, which will focus on the stage performers of “Dolly,” will be in the March 5 edition.