This year's Theatre Out Reach On Stage crew perform Pippin during their first full dress rehearsal on Monday night. TOROS' 2014 production is set to be performed from Aug. 6-9 at the Capitol Centre. PHOTO BY LIAM BERTI
If you’re into magic tricks, acrobatics and the prestige of musical theatre, then Theatre Out Reach On Stage has the show for you.
And if you feel like you’re on a quest for meaning and significance in life, then you might see a little bit of yourself in the lead character of Pippin, the latest TOROS production.
On Monday night, this year’s cast and crew held their first full dress rehearsal of the musical at the Capitol Centre in preparation for their live performances from August 6-9.
“It’s unlike most musicals because it breaks that fourth wall; we get to communicate with the audience a little bit more directly,” said the show’s director, Shane Southcott. “It’s a musical where there are no rules, you can do whatever you want; it’s wide open.”
The musical is basically a show within a show: a mysterious performance troupe tells the story of Pippin, a young prince on his search for identity and purpose. His life seems purposeless and bland, he says, so off he goes on the path to self-discovery.
“The chorus and the dancers are so involved, it’s just so intricate,” said 16-year-old Emily Hawton, who portrays the Leading Player character. “Everyone has to be in a certain place at a certain time, so it’s just very busy. There’s also a lot of magic tricks and acrobatics, so If they’re not safely executed, then it could be very dangerous.”
The show typically portrays Pippin's transition to adulthood, the rites of passage he must undergo and the roadmap he has to forge in order to find what truly makes him happy.
Given that the ensemble is made up entirely of actors between the ages of 13-25, some of the students said it was easy to draw parallels in their own lives from learning Pippin and the character virtues that the protagonist discovers along the way.
“I don’t usually relate to my characters as much because they’re usually more farfetched,” said 15-year-old Nicholas Boegel, who plays Pippin. “I find Pippin very real and relatable, so it’s great to relate to my character in that way.”
Southcott said he too has noticed some of the cast catching on to the show’s deeper, metaphoric themes.
“One of the themes is entitlement, and for this generation I think it’s pretty apt because this is a generation that grows up thinking ‘I deserve more, I deserve to be extraordinary,’” Southcott further explained. “It gets into what is extraordinary and what brings happiness to different people."
TOROS’ 2014 production is an adaptation of the Tony Award-winning musical by Stephen Schwartz, which is the 32nd longest-running show on Broadway. The show rejects the fairytale happily-ever-after archetype in favour of a more realistic, down-to-earth approach.
But while the TOROS' version of the show is quite light-hearted and upbeat, the show has historically been made quite dark and somber. Southcott said that while the company chose to deviate from that a little bit, those dark elements are a paramount part of the production.
“There are things you have to do with this show; you can’t just make it fluff and peaches and cream,” he explained. “If there’s one challenge, it’s been dealing with some of the darker adult themes with such a young cast…but we’ve been able to get around it.”
TOROS is a renowned summer theatre program in North Bay that is funded by the Near North District School Board. The program is in its 28th season and is open to any young person regardless of their school or previous theatre experience.
In total, the band, cast and crew consists of roughly 75 students, who have been rehearsing the musical five nights a week since June.
“Even though it’s a very challenging show, we still have a lot of fun,” said Boegel, who’s in his first leading role in a TOROS production. “There’s a lot of great numbers that allow everyone to have their moment to shine and everyone’s been very devoted to this show, which is great.
“This has been a really fun cast to work with. We’re a great ensemble; we’re always working together and we all know each other so well at this point.”
Tickets for the show are $17 and can be purchased at the Capitol Centre box office.
