Initially, a dozen students signed up for the spring semester of the Jewish Community Center’s Youth Theatre Program. But robust recruitment and marketing efforts brought that number up to 65 young actors who are now set to stage four performances of The Lion King Jr. May 10–14 at the J’s Staenberg Family Complex in Creve Coeur.
The expanded enrollment—more than double the organization’s average—also allowed the program and its scholarship funding partner, the J Associates, to increase the number of scholarships available from about two to six this semester, says Carson McGill, the show’s producer and the current youth theatre coordinator. The going rate for the program, open to students from kindergarten through ninth grade, was $250 for Jewish Community Center (JCC) members and $280 for the general public.
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Every Youth Theatre Program participant who auditions is cast and, because a large number of students in primary grades signed up this semester, organizers increased the number of planned shows from two to four, splitting the younger students into two separate ensemble casts. The production of The Lion King Jr. features older students in the principal and key ensemble roles, and they will perform in all four shows.
“This gave our older students the chance to be in two additional shows,” McGill says, adding, “and two more opportunities to show the community all of their hard work throughout the semester.”
Many cast members were able to attend Disney’s The Lion King, which recently ended its run at the Fabulous Fox Theatre, giving them some Broadway-level inspiration for their own performances. An added bonus? McGill played the role of Timon, Simba’s meerkat friend, with the show’s touring company in 2012.
“We reached out to some of my contacts in The Lion King and were able to bring one of the ensemble members who is a dancer over to our rehearsal space,” he says. “She did a workshop/master class with our students.”
McGill thinks audience members who attend The Lion King Jr. will be impressed by the students’ progress and performances.
“They can expect the best show the JCC has put on in the history of the Youth Theatre Program,” he says. “We’ve had so much positive feedback from staff who have been around for 40 years who’ve said they’ve never seen a production and program quite like we have now.”
He said the goal is to change people’s perceptions of children’s theater and give program participants a production they can be proud of. In addition to developing and spotlighting students’ talents, organizers aim to encourage them to take the poise they’ve practiced from the stage to the real world.
“Theater is such an encouraging and accepting community that to be different is to be cool,” McGill says. “I really want them to take away the confidence and the friendships they’ve built throughout this process.”
For showtimes and additional information, go to the Youth Theatre Program site. To purchase tickets ($12 advance for adults, $10 for children), click the “Purchase Tickets” button below the photo or call the New Jewish Theatre Box Office at 314-442-3175.
