Westerville City Schools’ Summer Enrichment Theatre program is bringing the musical “Oklahoma!” to the stage.
The summer production, open to all Westerville middle and high school students, will be housed at Westerville South High School and performed July 15-18, 23 and 24 at the amphitheater in Alum Creek Park.
Students interested in participating in the summer musical must complete an interest form by May 10. Auditions begin May 22.
The musical, which is set in the 1900s and written in the 1940s, offers lessons that still ring true in today’s communities, said Matt Wolfe, who heads the theatre program at Westerville South High School and serves as the director of the summer enrichment theatre program.
“Make no mistake, ‘Oklahoma!’ is a musical filled with joy and optimism about tomorrow and I intend to celebrate that joy,” he said. “However, it is also a look at the resistance to change — that underlying condition which makes us feel most safe when we are around people who we identify with. But what is identity?”
He said Oklahoma! is a perfect musical with big song and dance numbers; great roles for actors, dancers and singers; the ability for the ensemble to expand as large as auditions warrant and a story that resembles a particular time but speaks to audiences of all ages.
Students who participate in the summer enrichment theatre program can earn a .25 elective credit in Theatre Production.