Schools team up to bring Oliver to stage
AN EXCITING musical collaboration between two Toowoomba schools will see more than 100 students take to the Empire Theatre stage.
Fairholme College and Toowoomba Grammar students from years seven to 12 will combine to create a cast of 170 for Oliver the Musical.
Director Katrina Bailey, from Fairholme College, said the schools worked together every couple of years for a different performance.
The school’s partnership started in 2001 with Anything Goes and the last musical was Titantic.
“We tend to look at which seniors we have coming through and see if we have the characters available, and what their talents are when we decide what to do,” Ms Bailey said.
“Plus it is our centenary year and we wanted to include years seven to 12 and we have been able to do that with Oliver.”
Ms Bailey said auditions happened at the beginning of the school year and rehearsals began a few weeks later.
Twenty-five girls auditioned for one of the main roles in Oliver, so a double cast was created to give more aspiring students the chance to stand out in lead roles.
“It certainly puts pressure on the audition panel,” Ms Bailey said.
“But the other thing that excites me about musicals is that someone always comes out of the woodworks. They may have been in chorus in previous years, waiting, watching and gaining confidence and we have a few of those this year.” Ms Bailey encouraged everyone to come along and see the schools’ performance.
“It’s just a great story. The characterisation, it’s funny, it’s dark,” she said.
“You will come in singing if you know it and you will walk out singing.”
Oliver the Musical will be performed at the Empire Theatre on Thursday at 11am and 7pm, and on Friday and Saturday at 7pm.