For musical theatre fans, the long wait for live shows is finally over.
Timberline Musical Theatre is taking part in Music Theatre International’s All Together Now! global event. Over 5,000 companies and schools are going to be performing the revue on the same weekend, Nov. 12-13.
“It’s supposed to be a welcome back to the theatre after going on two years now of having no audiences,” said Timberline Secondary School drama teacher Jana MacFarlane.
The whole thing is being run and directed by Timberline student Ryver Santos Cegnar, who is making his directorial debut with the revue. The show is entirely extra-curricular, and the students involved are not even necessarily in the drama program — some are actually Timberline alumni who are coming back for the show.
“I’ve always wanted to direct, so this is just an opportunity to do so,” Santos Cegnar said. “There’s a lot of new challenges that I’m facing. There are things that, as an actor, you don’t take into consideration when directing.”
“It’s a massive undertaking, and Ryver’s been wanting to do a full-scale production since grade 7 or 8. We’ve held him off until his grade 12 year,” MacFarlane said. “He’s not just directing. He’s directing, choreographing and doing a lot of production elements like contacting the journalists, doing the posters. He’s been working really, really hard and has an amazing group of kids that are willing to go along with him. I’m very proud.”
Santos Cegnar is no stranger to theatre. He also put on a quarantine musical in his living room in the summer of 2020.
The show will be a revue, which is a collection of songs from different musicals, done on a smaller scale than a regular show.
“There’s not going to be costumes, there’s not going to be sets. It’s more just the performance,” MacFarlane said.
The show includes songs from Rent, Les Misérables, Into the Woods, Hairspray, Beauty and the Beast and more.
“It’s all coming together,” Santos Cegnar said. “At first, it was very slow and now it’s picking up as people are learning their stuff.”
The theatre is able to operate at half capacity as long as COVID-19 protocols are being followed. Tickets are limited to 100 per night, and audience members must wear masks, sanitize and provide contact information.
Tickets are available at the door, and can be reserved by emailing timberline.musical.theatre@gmail.com.
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marc.kitteringham@campbellrivermirror.com
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