‘The Music Man,’ BHS theatre, Nov. 9, 11-12
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Lindy McCool, left, as Eulalie Mackechnie Shinn, and Luke Anderson as Harold Hill in BHS’s upcoming “The Music Man.” - Photo submitted
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Annabella Brady, left, as Marian Paroo, and Audrey McGuire as Amaryllis. - Photo submitted
KNOXVILLE — Let the trombones play! Bearden High School’s theatre department will present its fall musical, Meredith Wilson’s “The Music Man,” Thursday, Nov. 9, and Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 11-12, in BHS auditorium, 8352 Kingston Pike.
Thirty BHS students and 10 youth ensemble members — children in the community from third to eighth grade — make up the show’s cast.
Open to the public, the shows begin at 7 p.m., Thursday and Saturday, and 2:30 p.m., Sunday.
“The public is totally encouraged,” said Lauren Andrejko, teacher and director for the play. “Parents can bring their children. If they can sit through two-and-a-half hours of content, they will definitely enjoy it. It’s a fun, family-friendly show.
“They’ll get to see some of their peers even — third graders on stage, maybe inspire you to get on stage,” she added.
Tickets are $12 and $15 — depending on general or reserved seating — and are available at beardentheatre.com
“This is one of my all-time favorite shows,” Andrejko, said. “I grew up watching the Shirley Jones/Robert Preston film that was directed by Marion DaCosta, and Robert Preston and Marion DaCosta were part of the original Broadway production. … I’m just obsessed with the words and the music and the story.
“Mr. (Steven) Brown (music director) and I both loved the content, loved the music and thought it was such a uniquely American cultural experience,” she added. “The songs are just iconic. Last year, we were looking at what show to do and we realized that we had a good group to do this show finally, so we selected it back in May.
“The kids were auditioning for parts in August, and we’ve been rehearsing since the second week of school”.
“One of the most universally cherished treasures of the American musical theatre, ‘The Music Man’ is family entertainment at its best,” Andrejko stated in a press release. “Meredith Wilson’s six-time Tony Award-winning musical comedy has been entertaining audiences since 1957 and is a family-friendly story to be shared with every generation.
“It’s actually been 25 years since Bearden last produced this show,” she added. “I’m a graduate of Bearden High School, and that was the first Bearden show I ever saw, in 1998 when I was a freshman.”
For more information, contact Andrejko, at lauren.andrejko@knoxschools.org” bhsmarketingcrew@gmail.com or call 865-776-4947.
