The Oak Grove High School Theater club, which is already renowned through the state and country – most recently, placing first in the state at the Mississippi Theatre Association State Festival – has now been chosen to represent the state at the Fringe Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland.
The festival, which is the largest of its kind in the world, will be held in August 2023 and will feature the Oak Grove team performing “Shrek the Musical,” based on the DreamWorks Animation film. The production is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International.
“I am super excited about the upcoming trip to Scotland,” Oak Grove Theater director Suzanne Allmon said. “It is such a wonderful opportunity for my students to be able to perform at the largest Theatre Festival in the World. Quite a few of my students have never been outside the country and some have never even been on a plane.
“The American High School Theatre Festival chooses the top schools in the United States to have the honor of performing in Scotland at the Fringe Festival. We were nominated by various professors and organizations throughout the state for the honor.”
The musical will bring the well-known characters from “Shrek” alive, including Shrek, Donkey, Fiona, Lor Farquaad, Pinocchio, Gingy and more.
To accomplish that, Oak Grove Theater has a cast with two sets of leads. The Beautiful World Cast consists of Shrek (Nick Singleterry), Fiona (Mia Henington), Lord Farquaad (Josh Adams), Pinocchio (Caden Reynolds) and Gingy (Wade Landry).
The Good Morning Cast is Shrek ( Zach Rifkin), Fiona (Darla Raber), Lord Farquaad (Elijah Williams) , Pinocchio ( Joseph Pierce) and Gingy ( Ellie Yarrington).
They will be joined by an ensemble of more than 30, which play a “who's who” of fairy tale creatures, duloc dancers, soldiers and more.
“This group is excited at the opportunity to perform and can't wait to get started on fundraising,” Allmon said.”I think we are going to have a great time together. It is such a great opportunity for them to see other theatrical works from all over the world.”
To donate to the school’s Fringe Fund, contact Allmon at Suzanne.allmon@lamarcountyschools.org.
In advance of the Scotland trip, the group performed “Shrek the Musical” on May 1 at the Oak Grove High School Performing Arts Center.
“Shrek went really well,” Allmon said. “We had a great group of students to work with and wonderful audiences each night.”
In addition, Allmon will hold the Oak Grove Musical Theatre Summer Camp will be held from June 13-17 at Oak Grove High School. For more information or to register, visit www.oakgrovehightheatre.com or https://bit.ly/3wC6D2a.
“It is going to be a great time for students finishing the third grade through students who have finished the eighth grade,” Allmon said. “We will put on Shrek Jr. at the end of the week.”
“Shrek,” which was released in 2001, is loosely based on the 1990 fairy tale picture book of the same name by author William Steig. The story follows Shrek, an ogre who finds his swamp overrun by fairy tale creatures who have been banished by the corrupt Lord Farquaad.
