Young Artists' Broadway Revue comes to Heritage Hall

By Jonathan Pleasant
This past week, Johnson County Young Artists presented “Broadway Revue 2010” for their families, friends and neighbors. The stage at Heritage Hall was the backdrop for this evening of music, dance and laughter.

A revue is a particular type of entertainment that consists of dance, music and sketches. Sketches are a series of short comedy scenes that can last from one minute all the way up to ten minutes long. Playing the part of an elderly gentleman, Coty Brewer sat in a corner of the stage, opening up his old trunk, pulling memories from Broadway musicals and plays long ago and would reminisce prior to the opening of each act. Brewer’s humor was appreciated by the audience as each scene would draw more and more laughter. While the students danced and sang, Brewer would sit as still as a mouse, blending into his chair to be unnoticed.

The curtain opened to the sounds of the familiar Frank Sinatra song, “New York, New York.” Stepping out onto the stage was a group of dancing high school girls and one young man, dressed in black and white, complete with top hats. They entertained the audience with “One” and “What I Did for Love” from the musical, “A Chorus Line.” As Brewer dabbed his eyes with a tissue, the curtains opened to a group of high school, middle and elementary students dressed in raggedy clothes and bare feet. Their selection of songs from “Les Miserables” included “At the End of the Day,” “I Dreamed a Dream,” “Castle on a Cloud,” and Bring Him Home.”

Two high school students sang together, as they performed “Suddenly Seymour,” from the play “Little Shop of Horrors,” a rock musical about an employee from a florist shop who grows a plant that thrives on human blood. The curtains opened again and Kelsey Yongue as Anna from “The King and I,” opened a repertoire with “I Whistle a Happy Tune,” and “Getting to Know You.” These selections involved the younger singers as the children of the king. Singing solo throughout part of a presentation from “Cats,” Amber Icenhour sang the song, “Memory.”

The next selection was from the musical, “Grease.” Brewer, putting on his sunglasses and cane in hand, hobbled over to the singers and did an emprovised version of the twist. The high school students sang and danced to “Summer Nights,” and “We Go Together.” Drawing laughter from the audience, Brewer leaned upon his cane as he hobbled back to his chair, muttering to himself, “I tell you what, I’m not as young as I used to be.” Following the selections from “Grease,” the audience enjoyed “My Favorite Things,” “Do Re Mi,” “Sound of Music,” and “So Long, Farewell,” from the musical, “The Sound of Music.” Ellie Beth Youngblood played a tired Gretl Von Trapp who was carried off to bed by Aisia Robbins.

After a brief intermission, the curtains opened to six high school students as they delightfully sang “Seasons of Love,” from the musical, “Rent.” Following this act were performances from “The Wizard of Oz.” Complete with Dorothy, The Good Witch of the North and munchkins, this group consisting of performers of all ages took the audience back in time with “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” a vivacious “Munchkinland,” “Ding Dong the Witch is Dead,” and “Follow the Yellow Brick Road.” Dressed in brightly colored tights, shirts and hats, the younger children played the part of the munchkins. Clearly loving their roles in this musical selection, this group of young performers stole the hearts of the audience.

The audience was transported to the sixties with the rock musical, “Hair.” Dancing around the stage, complete in hippie attire, the high school students sang and swayed to “Aquarius/Let the Sun Shine.” “Green Finch and Linnet,” “Bird,” and “Johanna,” were the selections for the 1979 musical thriller, “Sweeney Todd.” The audience was then transported to the musical, “Oliver,” with “Where is Love,” and “Consider Yourself,” the two selections from this British musical. The next musical selection was from “Phantom.” The music from this musical included “Think of Me,” “The Phantom of the Opera,” and “Music of the Night.” In the late 70’s, the musical, “Annie,” was written based on the famous comic strip, “Little Orphan Annie.” With powerful voices the Johnson County young artists performed “Maybe,” “It’s a Hard Knock Life” and “Tomorrow” from “Annie.”

The evening closed with the sounds of “Give My Regards to Broadway,” as the performers came onto the stage for the final curtain call. With smiles on their faces, the students enjoyed the applause of the audience. Still sitting on the sidelines, watching from his chair, one of the performers took Brewer by the hand to join in the celebration. The audience gave a big applause of appreciation to Brewer for his dry wit and humor, as well as the hard work of the students.

According to director, Lisa Zeggert, the students began working before Christmas on the musical. The original date for production was in March, but had to be delayed because of the many snowstorms this past winter. The high school and middle school students worked after school diligently on learning their songs and were joined on Mondays by the elementary school students. Zeggert gave credit to Amy Young from Mountain City Elementary for her hard work and perseverance working with the younger students. Sheree Schmees worked hard on make-up and choreography, along with Misty Youngblood, who also was the stage manager. Special thanks was also given to Tracy Green and the Johnson County Young Artists board.

For complete details please pick up your copy of this weeks, The Tomahawk, available at local newsstands today
http://www.thetomahawk.com/Detail.php?Cat=ACCENT&ID=58513