The joint production will “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.”
By: Amy Filippone, Dept. of Parks & Recreation
Moorestown Parks & Recreation Department and MoorArts will be producing the musical “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat” for summer 2018. Erica and Greg Harr will be directing and choreographing. The production will be for ages 14 to 23 with auditions beginning Monday, May 21 from 6 to 9:30 p.m. at Moorestown High School.
This is the second year that the Recreation Department and MoorArts have collaborated on a summer musical. All participants will audition and everyone will have a part on stage as well as help with the many facets of production.
It’s an opportunity for youth to learn to work on team within a strict timeline.
“We’re really big on mentoring and developing the students,” said president of MoorArts Georgean Wardzinski. “Even if they don’t go into theater production — producing a show with all the multi-faceted elements that go with it — is just great at developing organizational and teamwork skills.”
This year marks the 50th anniversary of this Andrew Lloyd Weber show, so there’ll be a lot of buzz in the theater world around this musical. Erica and Greg Harr worked with MoorArts and Moorestown Parks & Rec Department to select this particular musical and wanted to make it gender-neutral. Parts will be cast based on talent rather than gender. No restrictions will make for a fresh and exciting production.
Kids will learn about all the moving parts of launching a musical from the ground up including: set design and construction; choreography; costume design and fabrication; hair and make-up; lighting and sound. The group of participants will be limited to approximately 40 that allows for close mentoring between the kids and professionals. There is also legacy with kids who have been in Moorestown productions for many years and return as college students to work on the production.
There evening performances are on July 20, 21, 25 and 27 at 7:30 p.m. with a matinee on July 28 at 3 p.m. The matinee will be staged for people on the spectrum and people who have auditory issues. ASL signers will be on hand for this performance. Information about the musical will be online ahead of time so kids and their families can prep for the show. During the production, the performers use glow sticks to alert the audience there will be a loud noise or something that would be offensive or traumatizing.
Erica Harr, the director, is very supportive of the special needs performance. She was crowned Miss New Jersey in 2004, and her platform was Autism advocacy and awareness. Coupled with her many accomplishments as a performer and director, she will bring a profound understanding and sensitivity to this performance.
“The group forms a strong bond,” Wardzinski said. “It’s definitely a social thing. They become quite close. Collaboration, team work, and communication are so important in a production which is why we feel it’s such a great opportunity to mentor students because it’s skills they can use no matter where they go.”
Please visit www.moorestownrec.com to register and for full details.
