We are now just weeks away from the school production of '13', a musical by American theatre composer and lyricist Jason Robert Brown. With a cast of 65 students on stage and a six piece band from Year 5 through 12, the biennial production has something for everyone - from big dynamic chorus numbers, original dance choreography by our very own teaching staff, exciting rock band music as well as beautiful solos presented by our lead performers.
The story is about Evan Goldman, a Jewish boy who lives in New York City. As well as coming to terms with his parents' recent divorce, he is also about to turn 13 and is preparing for his impending Bar Mitzvah. Our story starts with Evan suddenly finding out that he is moving from New York to live in a small town in Indiana. He is mortified, and he finds it difficult to navigate the complicated social circles of his new school. He eventually manages to find his way and makes great new friends but also discovers some important things about being a teenager in today's world.
The musical '13' premiered in Los Angeles in 2007 and opened on Broadway in New York in 2008. It was performed on Broadway by a teenage cast, and it has since gone on to be produced around the world.
After numerous successful rounds of auditions, the major lead roles for this year's production have been double cast. Each of these doubled leads will perform two out of four shows. Our major lead actors for 3 and 5 June will be Sean Chen, Dana Free, Daniel Fang, Brayden Lo, Janice Wu and Brigitte Hunt. For 4 and 6 June, Michael Tan, Kashish Mahbubani, Jack Lee, Bryan Tang, Kelly Hebestreit and Hannah Coogans will be our major lead actors. Perhaps you might want to come along twice to see both sets of leads!
In addition to these main roles, nine minor lead roles will be featured including Danielle Shaw, Meagan McWhirter, Cindy Long, Nicole Pong, Emily Lei, Sahil Mahbubani, Sunny Lau, Nicholas Leonard and Adrian Wong. Behind the scenes there is also a team of students helping with prop making and costumes, and there will be a technical team helping with sound and lighting.
The special ingredient to a successful production is nonetheless our hardworking teaching staff and even a member of our alumni, with the show being conducted by former student Thomas Chiu (who now works as a Cathay pilot), produced by Mr Graeme Tyler and directed by Ms Lindsay Bennie, Ms Lynda Lemmon and Mr Graeme Tyler. Mr Peter Stapleton is in charge of playing the piano part with the band and is also involved in training the chorus in the musical numbers and Ms Esta Styles is training both soloists and chorus vocal parts, while Mr Warren Roma shakes things up with his fabulous choreography. Warren has trained in New York, Los Angeles and the Sydney Dance Company and has previously worked with artists including Australian R&B and pop singer Paulini.
Students and staff involved in the production have just returned from a highly successful rehearsal camp and are now in their final weeks of preparation before their opening night on 3 June. With over 1,200 seats to sell across four evening performances, all students, parents and community members are invited to witness this must see buzz-generating musical production from our very own AISHK students and staff. For further information and to order tickets, please contact the Performing Arts department at performing_arts@aishk.edu.hk.
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