‘Brigadoon,’ ‘Fiddler,’ close high school musical season
Morgan High School will perform “Fiddler On the Roof” beginning May 19.
Morgan High School will perform “Fiddler On the Roof” beginning May 19.
Morgan High School will perform “Fiddler On the Roof” beginning May 19.
The spring theater season wraps up on the stages of two Northern Utah high schools.
LAYTON — For the second year, Layton High School is offering repertory theater — alternating between two shows every other night.
Theater director Rachel Helwig said she has seen other theaters try the approach — the Tuacahn Center for the Arts, the Utah Shakespeare Festival — and thought, “Why not?” Repertory has proven to be very successful, she said, and given the school’s Actors’ Company and the Musical Theater Company a chance to try some new things.
“Not all students who are actors like to sing and this gives those students a chance to learn and grow,” Helwig said.
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The two shows, ”As You Like It” and ”Brigadoon,” are different yet both well loved, she said. “I would encourage people to come to both shows. They are both excellent and they are going to see different and great things,” Helwig said.
One of the interesting things about repertory is that the same set is used with some minor changes. That has been a challenge, but Helwig said it is also good for her stage crew to experience.
“As You Like It” is Shakespeare set in the 1960s and has a real “hippie” feel that Helwig said audiences love. She said she likes seeing the students do “Brigadoon” because it’s a classic from the Golden Age of Broadway that isn’t performed often.
• WHAT: “As You Like It” and “Brigadoon” playing in repertory
• WHEN: “As You Like It” runs 7 p.m. May 4, 6; “Brigadoon” plays at 7 p.m. May 5, 7
• WHERE: Layton High School Little Theater, 440 Wasatch Drive, Layton
• ADMISSION: $4-$8, purchase online or at the door.
MORGAN — This is the last year at Morgan High School for theater teacher Candice Wilder, so she decided to pick her favorite musical, ”Fiddler on the Roof,” for her students to perform.
But that’s not the only reason Wilder chose the production set in turn-of-the-century Russia.
“It’s a show about a community coming together and making things work because they have to, and I think it teaches a great message,” Wilder said. “It’s a great message for Morgan and just our community as a whole, and I think it’s good for the kids to see and for people to understand and talk about.”
Wilder said she has been impressed with the large cast of 65 students. Some of the students are from the town’s elementary school.
“These kids have worked so hard and it’s going to be great,” Wilder said of the musical, which started rehearsals in February.
• WHAT: “Fiddler on the Roof”
• WHEN: 7 p.m. May 19-21; also 2 p.m. May 21
• WHERE: Morgan High School, 55 N. 200 East, Morgan
• ADMISSION: $5/adults, $3/children; purchase at school office or at the door.