Hey kids. Want to be in a musical? Then get ready for some valuable life lessons.
As actor and drama therapist Becca Greene-Van Horn sees it, when youths participate in a theater production, they learn skills like collaboration, trust, listening to others, and how to follow directions and to work hard. It’s an education, she says, that will serve them well, any time, any place.
Greene-Van Horn the director and creator of “Youth on Broadway,” uses the production of a Broadway musical revue every year to bring home that message. Through her program that is sponsored by Leisure Services of Amherst, area youths, ages 8 to 18, are offered a chance to play a leading or featured role in a scene or a song from a Broadway musical. That’s an opportunity that’s hard for most kids to come by, she says.
“What makes it special is the immense sense of achievement … the immense sense of self-esteem and self-confidence … they’ve worked so hard on,” Greene-Van Horn said. “This is a challenging project that really requires commitment and focus in a way that many of them who have not done theater, real musical theater, haven’t experienced.”
Greene-Van Horn and music directors Benjiman Durfee and Cindy Naughton will present the fourth annual “Youth on Broadway” show Friday, Saturday and Sunday at Amherst Middle School.
The production showcases 35 singers and actors in 36 songs from 24 Broadway shows, including such hits as “Spring Awakening,” “Oliver” “Les Miserables” “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown,” “Shrek the Musical” and “Seussical.”
“You get a chance to have a little touch of everything from different shows, which is really nice because its not one show where you can only fit in as one part,” said 15-year-old Mckenna Troy of Belchertown, who performs in the show. “Everybody gets their own special part in it.”
For example, in “Freak Flag,” a number from “Shrek the Musical,” nearly all the cast members play classic storybook characters, like The Three Blind Mice, The Big Bad Wolf and Little Red Riding Hood.
Troy says she’s having a blast singing in a squeaky voice as The Gingerbread Man. And, it seems, she’s not alone: At a recent rehearsal, with nearly everyone in the cast represented, the actors flashed huge smiles as they let the “freak flag fly.”
“This is a really great group. They are really connected, they are really supportive of each other, they are working hard,” Greene-Van Horn said. “They are very committed.”
In keeping with Greene-Van Horn’s educational philosophy about theater, she has tapped three teen assistants — Troy is one of them — to learn about the directing and producing end of things. She has them working with performers on their songs, taking notes about blocking and helping with general duties.
“I’ve definitely learned how to work with kids of all ages better … to build relationships,” Troy said. Another thing she’s learned: “Yelling doesn’t really do much, ever.”
Auditions took place for the show in October and the cast has been working every weekend since in the Bangs Community Center in Amherst. As opening night approached, they upped the rehearsal schedule to three times a week, hammering out those last minute touches, on songs like “All For the Best” from the musical “Godspell” — one of 16-year-old Doug Eveleigh’s favorites.
“The trick about it is there are three verses that get progressively faster. … It’s different than any other song you see in the show and its just fun,” said Eveleigh, of Amherst.
This will be 11-year-old Eli Schalet’s second “Youth on Broadway” production, and he says he’s looking forward to performing for family members who didn’t make it to the last show.
“I think some of my family that hasn’t come out to see it is coming out this time, so I’m excited,” said Schalet, of Northampton. “Also, one of my really good friends is in it for the first time and I think he’s having a really good time in it and his family is going to be there, so I’m excited for him, too.”
“Youth on Broadway” will be presented Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. and Sunday at 1:30 p.m. in the auditorium of the Amherst-Pelham Regional Middle School, 170 Chestnut St. in Amherst. Tickets purchased in advance cost $12; $6 for children, students and seniors (available at the Amherst Leisure Services Department or at Jones Library) or $14 and $8 at the door.
