Harlequin Musical Theatre has just staged two casts of local children and opens Blood Brothers in November
Two alternating casts of local children played a 10-day season of Alice in Wonderland Jr in Howick in August.
They played it in the 140-seat theatre behind the Howick and Pakuranga Recreation Centre on Pakuranga Road.
“To every cast member, volunteer, creative, crew member, parent, supporter, sponsor and audience member who helped make this production such a success, thank you. Whether you were on stage, behind the scenes, in the rehearsal room, selling tickets, sewing costumes, moving sets, cheering from the audience, or supporting our performers along the way, this show would not have been possible without you,” wrote the production team.
“We’re so proud of what was achieved and grateful to everyone who helped create a truly wonderful experience for our young performers.”
Harlequin Musical Theatre started in 1959 as the Howick Light Opera Group, and everyone involved in it gives their time unpaid.
Volunteers converted the current theatre building over 1993 and 1994.
“There is always something to be done, and there is always a laugh to be had,” the group says, with no contribution too small.
Members come predominantly from Howick, Bucklands Beach, Pakuranga and Manukau City, and the committee meets once a month at the theatre.
The jobs its website asks people for run from props and set painting to front of house, stage crew and production management.
As one children’s show comes to an end, another takes over. Howick Children’s and Youth Theatre has the Harlequin from 17 to 20 September, for Our Town, Charlotte’s Web and Short Stories for Children.
Harlequin’s own next show is Blood Brothers, running from 21 November to 5 December.
Tickets go on sale in September. Auditions were held on 11 and 12 July, and performers had to be 18 or over.
Willy Russell wrote the script, the music and the lyrics. His own website calls Blood Brothers “a Liverpudlian folk opera”.
It was developed for the Merseyside Young People’s Theatre Company and first performed at venues across Merseyside, the region around Liverpool in north-west England, in 1981 and 1982.
The story follows twin brothers separated at birth, one raised poor by their mother and the other raised wealthy by the woman who takes him. They meet as boys and become friends, and it ends in tragedy when they learn what they are to each other.
By its own count Harlequin has staged over 90 shows in the past 50 years. Among them are West Side Story, Jesus Christ Superstar, Little Shop of Horrors and original pantomimes.
The list includes two New Zealand premieres, A Christmas Carol and Rent.
