Brighton, Cottonwood students to perform fall musicals
Local high schools have a diverse lineup of fall musicals this year.
Cottonwood High School will present "Bye Bye Birdie" on Friday, Nov. 18, Saturday, Nov. 19, and Monday, Nov. 21. Each performance will be held at 7 p.m. in the school's auditorium, located on 4055 S 2300 E.
"It touches upon age-old battles between parents and children," Cottonwood theatre teacher Adam Wilkins said.
"Bye Bye Birdie" is the story of how 1950s rock star and teen idol Conrad Birdie turns small town Sweet Apple, Ohio, upside down when a local girl is chosen to kiss Birdie in a farewell concert, his last performance before leaving to join the army. The play is a tongue in cheek parallel to Elvis Presley's real life experience of being drafted in the middle of his career.
Although the play is generally seen as corny, "Bye Bye Birdie" is really a great story about choices and consequences, and what people do whey they can't control their circumstances, Wilkins said. Cottonwood's production will take the play more seriously than most, as much as possible without changing the script.
The performance will also include a live rock band accompanying Birdie's numbers. Popular songs include "Telephone Hour," "How Lovely to Be a Woman," and "Healthy Normal American Boy."
Tickets are $8 in advance from the schools' main office or from www.graniteschools.org/hs/cottonwood up thru the day before the performance, and $9 at the door.
The Brighton High theatre department will perform "Once on This Island" at the school Thursday thru Tuesday, Nov. 10-15, at 7 p.m. Brighton is located at 2220 E Bengal Blvd.
Based on Rosa Guy's novel "My Love, My Love," "Once oSARn This Island" is a Romeo and Juliet-type story with a few unexpected twists. Set in Haiti against the social divide between poor villagers and wealthy landowners, the old gods of love, earth, sea and death influence the characters' lives in a competition to see whether love or death is stronger. Written by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, songs include "One Small Girl," "Forever Yours" and "A Part of Us."
Tickets cost $8.
