Many people look forward to seeing a musical on opening night. But do you ever wonder what goes on before the curtains open?The talented musicians in the pit orchestra, as well as the actors on stage, put long hours of practice into making their performance absolutely perfect.

Since the beginning of December, the members of the pit orchestra have been busy practicing their music for the upcoming musical Guys and Dolls. Carlmont junior and pit orchestra member Marissa DaCosta stated that the best part of being in the pit orchestra is “getting to hang out with a lot of cool people that play [music] well.”

Every Tuesday and Thursday evening from seven to nine, the 19 members of the pit orchestra and their director, Carlmont music teacher John DaBaldo, gather in the music room to prepare for the big night.

According to DaCosta, a typical rehearsal includes tuning, picking up the piece where they left off, running through pieces, and only stopping to ask questions.

For the most part, the musicians in the pit orchestra, like Carlmont junior and drummer Josh Fagel found it quite easy to make it into the orchestra.

Fagel said that he just “showed off a lot in jazz band” and then signed up to make it in. Junior Aaron Goodwin simply asked, “Can I play?” Sophomore Kaelen Ghandhi stated that playing more than one of the required instruments definitely gives you a leg up on making it in.

Almost all of the musicians agreed that although being in the pit orchestra is a lot of hard work and a big time commitment, it’s all worth it when they get to see everything come together on opening night.

Fagel is looking forward to “[his] grandma coming to see [him]” on opening night, in addition to watching the “good looking actresses” perform.

Guys and Dolls will run from Thursday, Feb. 7 to Sunday, Feb. 10. Tickets can be purchased online at carlmontmusic.com.