Get ready for a new season at Kelsey Theater filled with musicals, dramas, comedies, and family shows. Kelsey celebrates its Ruby Pink 40th Anniversary with a “Salute to the Ladies” –– 19 full-length adult and family productions featuring strong, determined, feisty women, like the adventurous Maria in “The Sound of Music” and the fashionista-turned-lawyer Elle Woods in “Legally Blonde: The Musical.” The Kelsey Kids Series offers 12 productions featuring traveling professional companies and local troupes in family shows like “Charlotte’s Web” and “Cinderella.”
The season opens with Pennington Players’ production of the musical “Pippin.” Performances are weekends, Fridays to Sunday, September 7 to 16. A reception with the cast and crew follows the opening night performance on Friday, September 7.
Featuring music by Stephen Schwartz, the composer of “Wicked” and “Godspell,” “Pippin” is the coming-of-age story of King Charlemagne’s oldest son, a young prince searching for the meaning and significance of his life, all the while guided by the conniving hand of the Leading Player. Audiences will follow Pippin through adventures of war, sex, politics, and love, as he begins to discover what it truly means to be extraordinary in our world. Elizabeth Ferrara of West Windsor is in the children’s chorus. Her father, Frank Ferrara, is the director; and her mother, Shannon Ferrara, is the musical director.
The show stars Kyrus Keenan Westcott, a former Plainsboro resident, as the Leading Player — and he is thrilled to have the opportunity to play the role. “Ben Vereen is one of my biggest personal icons and inspirations, so the opportunity to play a role that he perfected is an honor,” says Westcott. “I will never be able to even come close to replicating his skill and talent, so my approach to this role is to personalize it.”
Westcott got the theater bug when he was a student at Reynolds Middle School. “My middle school crush, Dianne, was auditioning for the school show and me, having a broken arm and not being able to try out for the basketball team, felt that this would be the perfect opportunity to court her,” he says. “So I auditioned for the show, got in, started dating Dianne, and realized as soon as I stepped on that stage that this was what I wanted to do.” He has been in more than 45 theatrical productions since middle school. When he is not performing he works for Axima Marketing Group and Uno Chicago Bar & Grill in Hamilton.
“To me, acting is finding personal truths and using those truths to behave truthfully under imaginary circumstances,” says Westcott. “I have my own interpretation of the Leading Player that I am looking forward to showcasing that for the Kelsey audience.”
Kelsey Awards
Westcott recently organized the Kelsey Awards ceremony in celebration of the past season at the theater. “When it came to promoting the show, my main goal was to reach the base of theater-goers in New Jersey,” he says. “A lot of people perform, work on, and watch shows at the Kelsey Theater, so getting the word out among that key demographic was very important. From there, the excitement factor thankfully caught on and people began to spread the word about the show.”
This was the fourth year of giving away awards but only the second year doing a live ceremony. “This year was different because the excitement and anticipation really spread very quickly and also, people were very excited to see their favorite shows perform one more time on the Kelsey stage,” he says.
Some of the award winners included John M. Maurer, a former West Windsor resident, who received awards for both outstanding director and producer of a play for “Laughter on the 23rd Floor.” Maurer Productions OnStage with producers John M. Maurer, Diane Gilman Maurer, and Dan Maurer, received an award for outstanding production of a musical for “Aida.” John M. Maurer, Diana Gilman Maurer, Tina Heinze, Kathy Slothower of Plainsboro, and Laurie Gougher received an award for outstanding costume design for a play or musical for “Aida.”
Frank Ferrara of West Windsor received an award for Outstanding Director of a musical for “A Chorus Line.” Meera Mohan of Plainsboro received an award for outstanding lead actress in a musical for the title role in “Aida.” Both Ferrara and Mohan performed in several of the productions on stage during the ceremony.
“Patricia Donahue (president of Mercer County Community College) really values the productions and the service we offer to the community,” says Kitty Getlik, Kelsey Theater’s artistic director. “Mercer College has donated funds for new equipment to upgrade the sound system.” Donations for future improvements are always welcome.
Ticket prices for most full-length musicals are $18 for adults, $16 for seniors, and $14 for students. Prices for non-musicals are $16 for adults, $14 for seniors, and $12 for students/children. Tickets for most shows in the Kelsey Kids Series are $10. Call 609-570-3333, E-mail kelsey@mccc.edu, or visit www.kelseyatmccc.org for more information.
— Lynn Miller
