Since the beginning of fall quarter, the Gaieties cast and production staff have been preparing for one of Stanford’s most popular traditions leading up to the Big Game. For its 114th year, Stanford’s Ram’s Head Theatrical Society presents “50 Shades of Grayeties”. As in previous years, the student run and produced show satirizes the Stanford-Berkeley rivalry in musical form.

Since the finalization of auditions in the second week of the quarter, cast members have been rehearsing blocking, choreography and vocals often more than four times a week. Director Daniel Grossman ’26 plans out these rehearsals while stage manager Sierra Kelly ’29 assists with scheduling and logistics. 

Much of the Gaieties cast is new to musical theater. Of the three leading actors — Caroline Goldman ’29, Lyle Dela Luna ’29 and Sophie Mazzeo ’29 — Dela Luna performed in his first musical in February, and Mazzeo has never participated in a musical before. 

“During the callback process, Sophie and I ended up getting matched to do this scene, and when I saw her act, I thought, ‘Whoa. This person’s really, really talented.’ That’s why I was so shocked to realize that she had no experience,” Dela Luna said. 

For members of the cast with musical theater experience, Gaieties is unlike any show they’ve performed in before. Ensemble cast member Colette Chang ’29 said, “The shows in high school were already pretty famous, but Gaieties is a completely original show. Everybody gets to play with their characters a lot more because they’re not predetermined. A lot of times when you do shows that are already on Broadway, you watch these very famous actors, and you copy them exactly. But with Gaieties, everybody gets to bring themselves to it.”

Rachel Mack Jones ’26, the choreographer of the show, recognized the cast’s willingness and eagerness to engage with “silly” dance numbers. She also appreciated that since all leads and much of the cast are freshmen, she can help introduce them to the traditions of life at Stanford.

“Gaieties, especially, I think is special, though, because at the same time that you’re putting on a show, you’re also introducing all of these people, who are basically all brand new to campus, to a bunch of different jokes and different parts of our culture,” Jones said.

Many upperclassmen who participated in Gaieties their freshman year continued their involvement in the show as production staff. Co-producer Sam Cousins ’28, who starred in the show last year, said, “I’ve jumped in as a producer, trying to do as much work as I can, to give this year’s cast the experience that I had last year and more. It’s obviously been totally different. I’ve never produced before in my life. I’ve never done anything backstage.” 

Co-producer Oliver Chally ’28 similarly decided to become a producer after having a positive experience as a cast member in Gaieties last year. This year, he enjoyed watching the cast come together and seeing the process of putting on Gaieties from a different perspective.  

Leading up to the show’s opening night, Cousins hopes he successfully shoulders the stress for the rest of the cast. “My job as one of the administrators is to feel as stressed as possible so that everyone else feels happy and wonderful and comfortable as possible. So I’d like to say that everyone feels great, and I feel very stressed, because that’s exactly how it should be,” Cousins said.

Dela Luna looks forward to his classmates’ reactions to Gaieties on Wednesday, also known as Frosh Night. “I just hope that the audience really enjoys it, and they get to experience a fraction of the happiness that this whole show has given me,” Dela Luna said.

Gaieties opens Wednesday and runs through Friday.