Thirteen years ago, The Morning Star ran a headline that read, “Students get stuck in new musical.”
That musical is coming back to the Kalamalka Secondary School stage when current musical theatre and stagecraft students present the "MusiKal" How to Get Out of a Musical - Again.
“This script, with a few modifications, has been pulled off the shelf upon which it rested since its 2003 world premiere at Kal,” said teacher/director Shon Thomas. “The current cast members are hoping as many 2003 alumnus as possible may show up and see what has happened to their beloved show. Various social media conversations have been inspiring to the current students and they hope they can impress those 30-somethings who hold these characters as fond memories.”
An homage to Broadway and musicals in general, the play features numbers from 13 Broadway shows including Wicked, Rent, Mary Poppins and Cats. All the Broadway numbers are mixed amongst a few 1960s pop classics, as well as four original numbers. Plus there is a little Sherlock Holmes mystery thrown in for good measure.
The show follows a class that has been unwittingly caught in a musical and discovers that in order to get out, they must figure out what musical they are in and end it.
They begin transforming into their ridiculous characters as they get more desperate to escape the theatre, especially if Watson is right in thinking that a murderer is on the loose.
Rich with archetypal characters – from the problem-solving nerd and his angry bully, to the militant feminists and the conservative traditionalists pulling against them – the script was chosen by the class because of its flexibility.
“It could be shaped into a show that was specifically challenging for them,” said Thomas.
How to Get Out of a Musical - Again stages Nov. 23-26 and Nov. 29-Dec. 2 at 7:30 p.m. Doors open at 7:15 p.m. Tickets are $5 for students, $10 for adults and $25 for families of up to five at the school office or call 250-545-1396. Information at sthomas@sd22.bc.ca.