December 02, 2024

Scottish brogues, highland plaid and the power of love appear for one day in a 100 years

CCHS choir presents ‘Brigadoon’ this weekend

By REGINA SMITH
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Gabriel Frakes as Tommy Albright and Sasha Smith as Fiona Campbell sing about mists in the heather atop the hill in CCHS choir department's "Brigadoon" rehearsal Monday. (CNA photo)

Creston residents and visitors have three chances this weekend to visit the Scottish Highlands through the efforts of Creston Community High School’s choir department.

“Brigadoon” will be performed 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday at the CCHS auditorium.

Sasha Smith as Fiona and Gabriel Frakes as Tommy, under the direction of Jane Warner, lead the cast in bringing Brigadoon to life. Both were honored by the Iowa High School Musical Theater Association last year as triple threats for their acting, singing and dancing.

“There is a lot of expertise between the two of them and that level of ability makes for a high quality experience for the audience,” Warner said.

Three judges from the IHSMTA will be attending the musical this year as well to score the performance for competition. Warner said the cast is both excited and nervous about the opportunity.

The town of Brigadoon appears only once per 100 years. The show “Brigadoon” offers a mix of far away and close to home, mystical and ordinary, punctuated by the power of love with an abundance of singing, dancing and laughs.

The skills of Leslie Tyler, with help from students Emma Pantini and Trinity Woody, are evident in the choreography. AJ Warner, once again, constructed the set and Shari Walters and crew painted it, including the path up the hill leading into the heather that is essential to the plot.Costumes include highland kilts constructed by AJ Warner and sewn by Laura Dowd and Jennifer Simmons.

The actors learned to speak the brogue accent with the help of two accent coaches and YouTube. Warner said some of the vowel sounds were the hardest, but the students worked hard practicing with each other and listening to their lines spoken in the accent.

“The student actors, singers and dancers this year are such a talented and professional group,” Warner said. “I’m so thankful to be working with them. They’re having a blast rehearsing this show, and they really can’t wait to perform it for an audience this weekend.”