Imprisoned on the Isle of the Lost – home of the most infamous villains who ever lived – the teenage children of Maleficent, the Evil Queen, Jafar, and Cruella De Vil have never ventured off the island, until now. When the four troublemakers are sent to attend prep school alongside the children of beloved Disney heroes, they have a difficult choice to make: should they follow in their parents’ wicked footsteps or learn to be good?
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| Members of the Windham Middle School Drama Club are staging 'Descendants: The Musical' from Jan. 13 through Jan. 22 at the Windham High School Performing Arts Center in Windham. SUBMITTED PHOTO |
April Monte will be the director as well as the choreographer for this show.
“It's my first time directing the middle school show,” she says, “but I have been choreographing it for the last six years.”
Monte develops the concept for the entire show — acting, singing, dancing, costume, set, and light design — as well as teaches the performers and backstage crew how to do it.
“Almost 50 Windham Middle school students and Windham High School volunteers have worked together to produce a full 90-minute musical based on the popular Disney film of the same name,” says Monte.
As you may expect, “Descendants: The Musical” contains all the fun and flash that the movie includes while high energy numbers, crazy costumes and hair, a little love story, memorable tunes, and “villains” abound.
While these are necessary components of a successful show it is not what truly drew this show to Monte’s attention for her first full Windham Middle School Production as the director.
“For me, the most important thing is the underlying message of unity and self-discovery. In a growingly contradictive world, especially for adolescents on social media, we are constantly pressured to choose sides,” says Monte. “All the characters in this show’s journey are focused on creating an expressive environment, opening one’s own perspective, and in the end finding a common ground even though your values may be different.”
Monte says she absolutely loves doing what she does.
“I love teaching what I have loved to do for so long and love seeing a new generation of performing artists emerge,” she says. “It is stressful at times to keep track of all that is going on in various aspects of the production, but I have amazing parent and student volunteers to help me out.”
For Monte, seeing a young person discover their own talent, creativity, and confidence is her favorite part of what she does.
“I feel like even if they don't want to become professional performers, the creative/ confidence-boosting experience, truly helps in all aspects of life.”
Ticket prices are $12 for students and seniors and $14 for adults and are available at the door. <
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