Young local talent will be on top of the charts with two performances of a musical stage production based on a hit motion picture and television series from the 1980s.
Broadway Or Bust students have been working hard for the past three weeks to prepare to hit the stage with Fame! Jr. on Friday and Saturday (July 27 and 28) at 7 p.m. at the Eagle Eye Theatre.
Fame Jr. is set in the early 1980s, during the last years of New York's celebrated School for the Performing Arts (a.k.a. the "Fame School). Written by David De Silva and Jose Fernandez, "Fame" is about a group of students who undergo four years of grueling artistic and academic work in order to achieve their collective dream of "living forever," expressed in the title song "Fame."
In the story, told through the music of Steve Margoshes and Jacques Levy, the characters In Fame! Jr. discover it takes much more than talent to find their artistic voice, build their confidence and learn how to collaborate.
"This is my eighth year at Broadway Or Bust (BOB). I love the opportunity to work hard and grow as a performer while having fun," said Grade 12 student Jamie Sweeney.
The 49 students ranging from six to 18 years old have had only three weeks to organize and rehearse. This year's production team includes new directors Nora Linhart and Hilary Strang, returning musical directors Melissa Braun of the Squamish Academy of Music, and Ali Bachert, and choreographer Amanda Morris. Also on BOB's eighth-year staff list are longtime BOB participants Emma Wong and Lyndon Jhuty.
"I participated in Broadway Or Bust two years ago when we performed 'The Music Man,' and now I get the chance to be on the other side of a production," Jhuty said. "I'm not just excited but honoured."
Tickets cost $15 for adults and $7 for students and children and can be purchased at the Squamish Academy of Music on Second Avenue and at the Adventure Centre.
