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Otago Daily Times
5 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Otago Daily Times
Mountainview gearing up for staging of classic show
The timeless tale of a young man and his coat of many colours will once again be taking centre stage in Timaru next week. For their annual production, Mountainview High School MPR (musical production) students will be bringing the much-loved musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat to life. The show, told entirely through song with help of the narrator, follows the story of Jacob's favourite son Joseph. After being sold into slavery by his 11 jealous brothers, he goes on a journey during which he is falsely imprisoned, discovers the ability to interpret dreams and ultimately ends up as the right-hand man of the Pharaoh of Egypt. Director Catherine Smith said that with the MPR subject's current cohort, it was the perfect time to stage Joseph. "We've got a lot of boys in musical production, a real mixture of kids and there's lots of roles with all the brothers, wives and things like that. "The cast we've got is pretty experienced, because a lot of them were involved in the two musicals we did last year, Mamma Mia! and Aida. "The year before that we did Evita, so a lot of them have done some pretty lofty musicals and have taken MPR right through for five years now." She said the show, which featured a cast of about 65, also included students being a part of a live orchestra and running and designing all the sound and lighting themselves. Arts captain Nathan Geerling, who plays a brother and Potiphar, said he had really enjoyed being a part of the production. "Joseph has been pretty great. There are some amazing points throughout the show with the whole of the ensemble and the leads coming in to create some amazing anthems and harmonies. "We have some phenomenal singers, the lighting and tech side of it is great and having a live orchestra allows us to push the boundaries of some songs as well, which is really amazing and adds some spice. It's going to be an amazing show." James Duncan, who will be taking on the role of the Pharaoh, said the show had been a big collaborative project. "I've really enjoyed working on Joseph. It's been a great experience and since we have students from year 9 to 13 it's been great to work with people you normally wouldn't. "It's been great just seeing the show come together as we worked on it more and more. As an actor I've really enjoyed doing numbers like Those Canaan Days, and Song of the King as they are ones where you can really try and portray your character over to the audience." The show will open on Wednesday, August 20 and run each night at 7pm until Saturday, August 23. There will also be a 1pm matinee performance on Saturday. Tickets are available from the iTicket website and cost $10 for children under-18 and $20 for adults.
NZ Herald
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- NZ Herald
In The Heights a ‘lively, action-packed' performance by Hamilton Musical Theatre
Tickets: Online via iTicket Reviewed by Cate Prestidge The latest show from Hamilton Musical Theatre is a lively, action-packed performance that takes the audience through a few days in the life of a close-knit Latino community in Washington Heights, New York City. Written by award-winning composer Lin Manuel Miranda (best known for stage sensation Hamilton), it won two Tony awards and a Grammy in 2008. With over 170 ethnicities in Kirikiriroa, there are relatable themes for audiences. These include the challenges of establishing yourself in a new country, ambition, the pull of home and the importance of community and culture. There are also some classic romance plots. One of the many lively dance numbers from In The Heights. Photo / Kerry Blakeney-Williams Mel Martin-Booker's director's statement in the programme gives a clear overview of the importance of diversity in casting this show and is worth a read. The show opens with a spray-filled and energetic entrance by Iosia Tofilau as Graffiti Pete. Tofilau is such a fun performer, and his moves instantly get applause and cheers from the lively audience. Usnavi de la Vega (Sekonaia Faletau) is the owner of a small bodega (store) on one side of the street. Faletau is a terrific, likeable lead and introduces us to matriarch of the community Abuela Claudia (Bobbi Mihi Howard) and de la Vega's cousin Sonny (Brooklyn Lee). Jessica Ruck Nu'u as Vanessa, who dreams of leaving The Heights. Photo / Kerry Blakeney-Williams We also meet his best friend Benny (Marangai Wainohu-Savage) and his bosses Kevin Rosario (Robert Epiha) and Camila Rosario (Julieta Covelli), and their daughter Nina (Kyla Greening). Lively salon owner Daniela (Kalesita Latu), along with Carla (Kyra-Mae Wilson) and budding fashion designer Vanessa (Jessica Ruck-Nu'u), hold court on the other side of the street. In between, Pirague Ro (Michael Kerei) wheels his ice cream trolley touting for sales. A haze over the stage and effective lighting communicates that the weather is stiflingly hot. The strong, grungy set with its walls of billstickers, roller doors over shops and a distant city skyline makes good use of the compact Riverlea stage. There are many highlights of the show, and the musical storytelling contains a lot of well-executed rap as well as solo and ensemble singing. I think vocal director Dan Ieremia has achieved the aim of vitality and connection. There are very strong performances from Faletau as Usnavi and glorious vocals from Howard in Abuela's soulful song, Paciencia y Fe. Greening was excellent as Nina, with strong emotion in her delivery, as was Ruck Nu'u as the restless, ambitious Vanessa. Sekonaia Faletau (centre) in the lead role of Usnavi. Photo / Kerry Blakeney-Williams Wainohu-Savage played the sincere Benny with a lot of focus and skill, including an excellent duet with Greening, and Latu was terrific and full of personality as Daniela, ably supported by Wilson as the more naive Carla. The entire group was strong vocally and especially rousing in the group numbers. The choreography by Shanelle Borlase features a mix of urban dance and more traditional musical theatre styles, and I liked seeing that both Tofilau and Latu were co-creators as captains. The whole show feels dynamic, supportive and fun. There are some very experienced performers on stage, as well as some relative newcomers. A few times the difference in stagecraft shows, but this is minor as the overall energy and heart of this show is a delight. The actors have had to master a lot of Spanish language, and the rapid-fire mix with English can sometimes gallop – but just go with it. As the guy in front of me said, 'I can't understand some of it, but it's great!' I recommend reading the synopsis to help (if you don't mind a spoiler). The preview audience didn't seem to need this, though, and responded to all the reveals in the show fulsomely and appreciatively. The well-executed programme has heaps of info and shows the huge team effort behind the scenes. The audience mingling before the show reflected the cultural diversity on stage, a cool crowd of people and languages from across Kirikiriroa, one of whom I overheard saying 'I've never been here before, this is cool'. Cate Prestidge is a principal academic and co-ordinator of journalism and communication programmes at Wintec. She has been writing theatre reviews for NZME since 2021.
