CCT to present ‘High School Reunion: Can’t Stop the Music’

The Canton Community Theatre will present “High School Reunion: Can’t Stop the Music” this weekend as its ninth annual summer spectacular in Canton High School’s Morse Auditorium.

Unlike past summer musicals performed by the community theatre, “High School Reunion” was written entirely by the production staff with assistance from the cast.

The show centers on the retirement of a fictional Canton High School principal, Henry Hemenway, played by George Jenkins. To celebrate Hemenway’s retirement, a group of alumni, faculty, friends and family congregates at the high school. Members of the group quickly learn they’ll be spending more time together then they’d originally intended when an unexpected Nor’easter dumps feet of snow in the region, preventing anyone from leaving the school. To pass the time, the group decides to share stories.

As the cast members reminisce about their days in high school, they sing popular rock songs from the 60s, 70s and 80s from artists as varied as the Beatles and ABBA to Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd.

Kathy Fox Alfano, the show’s producer, worked closely with director Renee Hanscom to write the majority of the show.

“Once we knew who was playing what part, we started to write the show around them,” she said of the musical, which is based entirely on true high school stories of the cast members and their friends and families. “The show reflects their personalities, stories and talents.”

With this creative writing process, the script evolved over the past two months of practice and was only finalized last week.

“We expected that,” she said of the script’s constant changes. “It was part of the fun of the whole thing.”

Alfano said the cast of 45, with an age range of 8 to “grandparents’ age,” has enjoyed giving up classical Broadway songs for a year to perform classic rock hits.

“Many of the cast members already knew the songs we’ll be performing, and we were able to introduce the songs to a younger generation,” she said.

The show, a true smorgasbord of high school experiences, will surely have something every audience member can connect with.

“The stories are funny, poignant, and make you remember your days in high school,” she said. “And with the popular music, we hope the audience will be dancing in the aisles.”

“High School Reunion: Can’t Stop the Music” will be performed Friday, August 6 at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday, August 7 at 1 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for students and seniors. A family pack of four tickets runs $40. For more information visit www.cantoncommunitytheatre.org.

Short URL: https://www.thecantoncitizen.com/?p=3056

Posted by Jeffrey Cattel on Aug 5 2010. Filed under Features, News. Both comments and pings are currently closed.