Just a few months after the Renton Civic Theater stepped up to save the Summer Teen Musical, the cast is now ready for opening night.
Premiering in the Pacific Northwest, “13 the Musical” opens today at Carco Theater, and the teens couldn’t be more excited.
“I’m so glad they saved the program,” said Renton’s Kyle Stefanie, 17. “It’s so much fun.”
The summer musical is a Renton tradition, celebrating 25 years this week, said producer Bill Huls.
“13 the Musical”
WHEN: July 23 through Aug. 1, 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday
WHERE: Carco Theatre, 1717 S.E. Maple Valley Highway
TICKETS: $15-$20, rentoncivictheater.org
Faced with a budget shortfall, the City of Renton cut the musical this year.
“I could not just see it going away,” Huls said. “To me, that’s a staple in the community.”
RCT is expecting to lose some money on the show this year but hopes to break even in future years.
It all depends on ticket sales, and so far they’ve been slow, Huls said. “At least we’re giving back to the community.”
The 24 teens in this year’s show have been rehearsing daily for about a month.
When they’re not in the three-hour practices, they’re memorizing lines at home, Stefanie said. “It keeps me out of trouble for the summer.”
It’s also a healthy learning environment.
“This is definitely what you can’t find at school,” said 17-year-old Nick Hyett-Schnell, 17, who plays the lead. “It’s very challenging and very exciting all at once.”
Through the rehearsals, director Random Harrison taught the youths about developing their characters.
“I sat down with Random and he worked with me on script analysis and decoding what kind of personality a character has,” said Tukwila’s Samantha Hefford-Anderson, 13.
With the characters all being junior-high students, some of the teens find filling the roles easier than normal.
“It’s what I’m dealing with now,” said 12-year-old Tayla Bolden. “It’s pretty realistic about what goes on in junior high.”
“13 the Musical” tells the coming-of-age story of a Jewish boy, Evan Goldman, as he struggles with a move from sprawling New York City to a sleepy town in Indiana.
“He basically goes from the heart of Manhattan, the city that never sleeps, to the city that never wakes up,” Hyett-Schenell said.
To make things worse, the move came about after the unexpected divorce of Goldman’s parents and just before his bar mitzvah.
As he struggles to fit in at his new school, he must decide between seeking popular friends or keeping good ones.
“It’s really fun,” Huls said. “There’s some really cute lines in it.”
