Alison Norton's am dram round-up of theatre, music and dance
It is good to see that post-pandemic, so many youth groups throughout am dram land continue to encourage and mentor young performers.
Script Youth Musical Theatre Company, who perform at Highbury Theatre in Sutton Coldfield, is such a group and is performing the junior edition of Grease the Musical this week until Saturday July 9.
As many musical theatre fans will know, the original version of this show does contain adult content typical of all American High School humour, but it has been removed and reworked so that youngsters can perform Grease without any controversy.
Grease is fun, lively, and high-energy, with a romantic storyline and some of the best musical theatre numbers around, including Summer Nights, Hopelessly Devoted to You, You’re the One That I Want, There Are Worse Things I Could Do and of course the title song.
High School heartthrob Danny Zuko meets girl next door Sandy during the summer break and they fall in love, but will he still acknowledge her in front of his school gang, The T-Birds? Similarly, can Sandy transform her prim and proper image into the exciting girl Danny wants?
In this production, 17-year-old Ollie Roberts plays Danny, and 16-year-old Erin Mooney is his Sandy.
For last minute tickets, priced at £16.50 for adults and £14.50 for children and concessions, visit the group’s Facebook page or search Script Youth Musical Theatre Company online.
The Company’s next production is Beauty and the Beast, and members are holding a launch night on July 12. For more information, visit the group’s Facebook page.
Another youth group who is bursting with excitement and energy is Youth Onstage, who will present You Can’t Stop the Beat, their 20th anniversary concert, at Queensbridge School in Moseley on Saturday July 9.
In addition to songs from shows the group has performed in the past, you can expect numbers from Dear Evan Hansen, Hamilton, In the Heights, Waitress, Six and many, many more.
Tickets are just £10 each and are available by visiting youthonstage.com or call Becky on 07903238102.
Are you a budding Peter Pan, Tinkerbell, or Captain Hook? Do you love festive fun or fancy dressing up as a crocodile? If so, The Mary Stevens Hospice Pantomime Company is looking for you!
Company members are holding an open audition for their fifth, highly successful fund raising
pantomime on Sunday July 10. Not only are they looking for leading characters, but also ensemble members and dancers aged sixteen plus.
To register interest and for more information, visit panto@mshfundraising.co.uk or the group’s Facebook page.
Over in Shropshire, the Shrewsbury Theatre Singers and Craven Arms Men’s Chorus have joined forces to present an afternoon concert on Sunday July 10 at 3pm, at Church Stretton Methodist Church.
Featuring traditional Welsh favourites, musical theatre greats and other delights of various genres, it promises to be a highly entertaining event.
Light refreshments will be served in the interval too, so it really is the perfect Sunday afternoon out.
For tickets, priced at just £8 for adults and £4 for children, call 01694 724825 or simply arrive and buy on the door.
At Theatre Severn in Shrewsbury, there is a whole feast of amateur performances of song and dance over the next couple of weeks. Here is just a taster of them.
This week, local youth group, Get Your Wiggle On is presenting The Little Mermaid. This show was a Broadway smash thanks to the Disney movie version and we cannot wait for it to transfer to the West End.
King Triton’s daughter, Ariel falls in love with human Prince Eric in the world above the sea. She therefore bargains with Ursula the evil sea witch to trade her fish tail for legs so she can pursue him. However, all is not what it seems and so with the help of her fishy friends, Ariel sets out to restore rest and peace under the deep blue ocean.
The music is by eight-time Academy Award winner, Alan Menken, with lyrics by Howard Ashman and Glenn Slater. The Little Mermaid will capture your heart.
Then, this weekend, July 9-10, Oak Tree Dance Studio will present a showcase of their talents entitled Metamorphosis in the Walker Theatre within Theatre Severn.
Dancers aged from two years old to eighteen, will treat audiences to their skills in ballet, tap, modern, commercial, street, contemporary and musical theatre dance disciplines.
For tickets for both of these shows, visit theatresevern.co.uk or call 01743 281281.
Finally this week, at the Rose Theatre in Kidderminster, there is a very clever reimagining of Lewis Carrol’s classic tale, Alice in Wonderland, presented by Krypt Youth Theatre.
Alice is a typical teenager with a twist. She has no idea who she is. An altercation at schools sends her spiralling into Wonderland on a journey of self-awareness and discovery. Instead of finding herself however, Alice discovers she has a role to play in saving Wonderland from the evil clutches of the wicked Queen of Hearts!
Look out for all your favourite characters from the classic original story, but with a modern punch of teen-age angst.
The show runs from July 16-17. For tickets, visit rosetheatre.co.uk or call 01562 743745.
That’s all for this week. Please email me at a.norton@expressandstar.co.uk with all your news and remember to include superior quality colour photos too. Alternatively, you can ring me on 01902 319662 or follow me on Twitter @AlisonNorton or on Facebook.
Break a leg!
