The school’s first theatre show of the year will take center stage starting Thursday night at 7:00 p.m. in the auditorium as the curtain rises on the production Shrek the Musical.  

“My hopes are that the cast and the crew feel very proud of their work and that they truly created an ensemble group and that the people that come leave singing the songs,” theatre director Heather Willingham said. “We hope to bring a lot of people to our campus that have not been here before from the community.”

Shrek the Musical is the first musical production under the direction of Willingham.

“Learning from somebody new is always difficult,” theatre student Sisi Simo said. “To me it’s depends on the type of person you are and how you approach different situations.”

Shrek is the first musical at the school with live music performed by students, an arrangement that makes sense to orchestra director Julie Blackstock.

“If we have students on stage who are doing all the professional roles or students backstage doing props and set, then we should have student musicians,” Blackstock said. “The students have had a really good time and it is the closest thing to a real life situation for a professional musician.”

The theatre department puts on several shows throughout the year but the addition of the orchestra for Shrek has the cast hopeful.

“The live orchestra is what I’m really looking forward to for this show,” Simo said. “We had a live rehearsal for it last night and it brought the whole show to life. The set is amazing, however I do think there should be a good turnout because it’s a good show. Everybody knows what Shrek is.”

Tickets are $10 for students and $15 for adults.