Dancers walk through a scene from “Footloose” during a rehearsal for “Theatre Revue 2011,” to be held this weekend at North Brunswick Township High School. “Theatre Revue” is a compilation of skits and numbers from television, theater and the movies chosen, directed and performed by students. ERIC SUCAR staff I saiah Mason began singing, dancing and acting only last year, in eighth grade. For his first time ever performing on stage, Mason played the lead role in “The Wiz” at his middle school in Toms River.
Just a year later, the baritone has a solo in the full-cast number “Don’t Stop Believin’ ” in the North Brunswick Township High School performance of “Theatre Revue,” to be performed this weekend.
“We sing, dance, can act in a skit. … We practice to get better and perform a show, and I think that’s pretty cool,” the NBTHS freshman said. “It’s different than [a full production] because then, it was learning the words and putting a character to it, but now … we make sure we blend in with other people.” “Theatre Revue” is the school’s annual winter production that features a compilation of skits and numbers from theater, television and movies chosen, performed and directed by the students. The solos and fullcast numbers include music, dance, drama and comedy.
This year, the 75 cast members, production crew, backstage members and sound and lighting students will be involved with various shorter pieces and the full-cast numbers of “Don’t Stop Believin’ ” from “Rock of Ages,” “Light” from “Next to Normal,” the theme song from “Footloose,” the “Avenue Q” theme, and “Steal Your Rock ’n’ Roll” from “Memphis.”
Actors walk through a scene during a rehearsal for Theatre Revue 2011, to be held this weekend at North Brunswick Township High School. “Theatre Revue” is a compilation of skits and numbers from television, theater and the movies chosen, directed and performed by students. PHOTOS BY ERIC SUCAR staff “I think people will really be impressed by the talent we have in this school,” Angela Peletier, a junior, said.
One highlight of “Theatre Revue” is having the students run the production. This year, the student directors are Colin Daingerfield and Jaclyn Angstreich.
“For them to see their own ideas come out is a great experience for me, and is a great experience for them,” Alchemist adviser Joel Chesler said.
Peletier and fellow junior Reese Kielty did the choreography themselves, coordinating a Charleston-style dance for “Steal Your Rock ’n’ Roll” and a jive dance for “Footloose.” With both students having jazz experience of over 12 years, they dedicated about 24 hours since November to create the dance numbers.
“There’s not one person here who doesn’t try hard,” Kielty said about the cast. “It’s weird to think it’s our [dances], because I’ve always been the student, not the teacher.”
“It’s strange to be in a bit of an authority role,” Peletier added, “but they give us a lot of respect, so it’s really rewarding to sit and watch them do it.”
The girls will also have solos in “Don’t Stop Believin’ ” and will perform a tap dance in “Five Guys Named Mo” and sing “She’s in Love” from “The Little Mermaid.”
Another advantage in being a member of the Alchemists is forming a new group of friends with similar interests.
Mason said this helped him adjust to a new school this year. He said he was shy last year despite having experience playing the trumpet in his school’s pit orchestra, but that performing with theAlchemists has helped him expand himself.
“You meet new friends with different personalities,” he said.
Kielty said that despite junior year being tough academically, combined with balancing time for extracurricular activities, students all converge around the theater group.
“The reason we do Alchemists and make time for it is we love it. We want to be here,” she said.
Eleventh-grader Justin Jajala pointed out another goal of the Alchemists: to expose the audience to themes and situations they may not be used to. For example, the fall production of “The Laramie Project,” which dealt with homosexual issues and bias crime, “got a different group of people to know us. So, hopefully, that will ultimately increase the number of people coming to see our shows.”
In terms of “Theatre Revue,” Jajala said the “amount of variety that goes on is a good way to get the attention of all the audience.”
In the same vein, the Alchemist production helps stretch the talent of all the students involved, since they get to improve their singing, acting and dancing skills.
“Most people want to show what they do the best, so it’s our time to do what we want,” Jajala said. “You have the freedom to audition [and perform] your own skits.”
The Alchemists will perform “Theatre Revue 2011” at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday at NBTHS on Raider Road. Tickets are $10 for adults and $8 for students and senior citizens.
Therewillalsobea2p.m.matineeperformance on Saturday. All tickets are $5. Tickets for all performances will be on sale 45 minutes prior to show time on the day of the show only.