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Murray High unveils ‘a little magic’ this theatre season

Aug 29, 2019 10:32AM ● By Julie Slama

Several family favorite shows will be performed at Murray High School under its drama club presidency. Front row: Parker Leppink, Merrick Webb, Macie Muller, Kali Degen and Sophia Weaver. Back row: Seth Stone, Georgia Collings, Olivia Jacobs, Kayleigh Weaver and Elijah Powell. (Will Saxton/Murray High School)

By Julie Slama | [email protected]

Flash back to childhood and patrons will be excited about Murray High School’s upcoming fall musical.

Murray High students will take the stage with “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang,” a musical based on Ian Fleming’s 1964 novel, “Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang: The Magical Car.” The show will be at 7 p.m., Nov. 14-16 and again on Nov. 18, with student tickets at $7, adults cost $8 and at the door, $9, at the school’s auditorium, 5440 S. State St.

“Chitty Chitty is a family-friendly musical, where you can bring kids to it to enjoy, and see the magic of theater with the car flying,” Murray High theatre director Will Saxton said. “We involve many of our students, our dance company, our live pit orchestra and we have a lot of fun with it. It’s a show we haven’t done before.”

Many of the showtunes have become well known, such as “Toots Sweet,” “Hushabye Mountain,” “Truly Scrumptious” and “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.” 

The show stars senior Elijah Powell as Caractacus Pott; junior Macie Muller as Truly Scrumptious; senior Kali Degen as Jemima; and sophomore Kyara Griggs as Jeremy. 

The vocal direction is under Alan Scott; orchestra directed by Jordan Beckstrand and dance choreography by Leesa Lloyd.

The show ties into Murray High’s season-long theme of “With a Little Magic.” 

“There’s a lot of magic in our shows this year,” Saxton said. “We have a flying car, a Peter Pan prequel, magic in ‘A Midsummer Night’s (Dream).’ It just adds to the magic of theater.”

Murray High also will put on “Broadway Unplugged” in a café style with drinks and pastries at 7 p.m., Jan. 15-17, 2020 in the school’s Little Theatre. 

“It will be like concerts, with guitar, piano, acoustic style, with students choosing their own numbers and rehearsing. The actors will arrange their own accompaniment in a simple concert style if they choose to have someone accompany them. It would just be a fun relaxing evening,” Saxton said.

Tickets are $5, with food and beverage service extra.

In the spring, the Spartans will perform “Peter & the Starcatcher.” 

“It’s a very creative show, engaging the actors with the audience’s imagination,” Saxton said. “The students are really excited about it.”

It will run at 7 p.m., March 19-23, 2020, in the Little Theatre. Tickets are $6 for students; $7 in advance for adults; and $8 at the door.

For their region competition, Saxton said they plan to use a devised theatre piece, which will be a new experience for the students. Region is March 11 and 13, with state in April. 

In May, students will perform William Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” at 7 p.m., May 6-8 ($5 in the Little Theatre) before directing their own one-act plays, at 7 p.m., May 21-23 ($3 in the Little Theatre.).

In addition, the improvisation troupe of about 20 students will give performances throughout the year.