Thursday, October 1, 2026
Nearly 100 Seaford High School students spent four days this month sweating through marching drills, memorizing music and perfecting choreography as they prepared to bring a circus to the football field.
The school’s marching band’s 2026 production, “The Greatest Viking,” takes inspiration from the 2017 film “The Greatest Showman” and will feature music from the movie, elaborate costumes and a series of circus-themed performances.
The roughly seven-minute show includes “The Greatest Show” and “This Is Me,” before concluding with a combination of “Never Enough” and “From Now On.”
Along the way, audiences will see plate-spinning, acrobatics, tumbling, singing and a tightrope act, along with a percussionist performing upside down. The show is particularly meaningful to the school’s Class of 2027, which selected this year’s theme.
Band director Anthony Romeo said students began discussing ideas in February before settling on the circus concept in May.
“Each year, the senior class gets to pick their show,” Romeo said. “So, this is special to the Class of 2027.”
The band’s annual camp, held Aug. 10-13, brought together nearly 70 musicians and 30 color guard members. Students divided their time between learning music in the band room and practicing choreography and formations on the field before eventually combining the two.
For Romeo, who has spent 39 years working with marching bands, putting the production together is a matter of experience — and plenty of planning.
The show’s design begins taking shape months before students step onto the field. Once the number of participating students is finalized, every member is assigned an individual position in the drill, meaning even one missing student can affect the formations around them.
From there, the directors work on costumes, props and special effects before teaching the basic show at camp. The production continues to be refined throughout the season. This year’s music has presented an additional challenge.
“Each year, we push them to their limits with the music and motion difficulty,” Romeo said. “This year’s music is harder than in the past.”
The students also had to contend with the heat and long days of camp.
But the demanding schedule is part of what Romeo hopes students take away from the experience.
“They are learning how to put long hours and hard work into something with a common end goal,” he said.
For the students leading the band, that lesson comes with an added responsibility.
Drum major Grace Fleming said being selected for the position means her teachers saw the potential in her to lead nearly 100 students.
“It also means that I am responsible for whatever happens out on the field, and I need to give my best effort into making the band great,” Fleming said.
Fellow drum major Jessica Peraino has been working toward the position since her freshman year. After serving as a section leader last year, she was excited to take on the larger leadership role, encouraging everyone to do their best, have fun, stay prepared and put on a great show, she said.
Band captain Emily Cominsky said student leaders also help newer members learn how to march and play their music, while keeping morale high during the long, hot days of camp.
For Cominsky, the moment when the music and drill finally came together was particularly rewarding.
“It is definitely very messy, and it is hard at first,” she said, “but it is a very fun moment every year because everything starts making sense.”
Color guard captain Sophia Sampson experienced a similar moment on the third night of camp.
After the band struggled during a field rehearsal, Sampson and the other guard members returned to the band room before heading home. There, she heard the musicians continuing to work on memorizing their music.
After hearing how much they had improved, Sampson realized the production was becoming the show she had envisioned for her senior season.
“It was going to be exactly the show that I wanted for my senior season,” she said.
Color guard captain Julia DiPietro had another moment of reassurance during the final day of camp. After losing her voice and being unable to call out the choreography, she expected the worst when the guard ran through the show. Instead, she heard members quietly reminding one another of the correct moves.
“They were beyond prepared,” DiPietro said.
That preparation will soon move from camp to the performance field, where Seaford hopes to once again leave audiences with a memorable show.
Romeo said the goal is for people to walk away remembering something unusual from the production — just as they have with the band’s past performances. For the students, that means more than simply playing music.
“We have all put so much work into it,” Peraino said, “and it is going to be very rewarding once we perform and see the crowd’s reaction.”
