Wyoming — Digging out old costumes and refreshing them is part of the fun for Wyoming High School students in bringing theater lovers a blast from the past for the special production of “From Memory to Imagination.”
In a space called the wig room at the Dan Heintzelman Fine Arts Center, where stacks of costumes and displayed hair pieces make for a colorful sense of nostalgia, junior Lily McKenney twirled around in a bell-shaped skirt first worn in 2012, which she will don for the role of Mrs. Potts from “Beauty and the Beast.”
She reflected on being a part of the one-night-only walk-through of memories — a collaborative production by the Wyoming Theater Company and high school and junior high concert and honors choirs. It will showcase songs and stories from favorite shows produced over the past two decades including “Cats,” “Beauty and the Beast,” “Wizard of Oz,” “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” “Young Frankenstein” and “James and the Giant Peach.”
“From Memory to Imagination” is at 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 24, at the Fine Arts Center, 2587 Boulevard Drive SW. It is free and no tickets are required.
“I really like hearing the stories about things that happened in the past,” said Lily, who is also playing Grizabella the Glamour Cat and is in the choir.
“(Director Jeremy Schnotala and others involved) always look so happy, and then they play the songs and they say, ‘I remember when we did this,’ or they look back at the costumes and say, ‘I remember when we made this.’ That’s so fun. I like hearing about the past of the theater program.”
Junior Maya Palma wiggled into a gigantic worm costume from the 2018 production of “James and the Giant Peach,” and junior Nicolai Clark layered on the multi-piece Willy Wonka Costume from the 2009 production of “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.”
“I really like that we are able to reimagine shows that we weren’t able to be in and characters, especially the worm, which is my favorite costume,” said Maya, who is also playing Dorothy and is in the choir. “I’m really glad I can bring that back and create him how I want to.”
New Space, New Collaboration
“From Memory to Imagination” is the first major production in the district’s renovated auditorium and is also the first time the theater and Wyoming High School and junior high choirs have brought together 130 students in a combined effort.
“It brings back lots of memories,” said Schnotala as he looked at Grizabella’s fur coat, first worn in his 2007 production of “Cats.”
Schnotala and Wyoming Choir Director Mary Alice Miller chose the numbers together for the upcoming show; Schnotala recommended his all-time, well-known favorites, and Miller considered how they would work with the choir.
“I’m excited about this performance,” Miller said. “It is fun working with (Schnotala) and collaborating and having kids experience a different form of choral singing. (And) having more theatrics involved in it and movement, which we haven’t done before.”
Between songs such as “Be Our Guest” from Beauty and the Beast, and “We’re Off to See the Wizard” from “The Wizard of Oz,” characters come together on stage for skits from the different productions.
“There are songs about memories and songs about imagination,” Schnotala said. “It’s remembering the past and imagining what it could be like if the characters interacted in a fun way.”
The show, replacing the spring musical and choir concert, will also give visitors a chance to see the renovated fine arts center, funded through the district’s bond issue approved in 2022. Along with updated lobby space, new seating, carpeting, lighting and speaker systems in the auditorium, the lobby has been renovated, and new space has been added for the program’s huge collection of wigs and costumes.
For students, the introduction of the new space and recasting parts of former shows creates the perfect balance, a reminder of where they have been and where they are now.
“I remember seeing ‘James and the Giant Peach’ in elementary school, and that partly inspired my wanting to join the theater company, so it’s really cool being able to see another rendition of it and being able to hear and sing the songs,” Lily said.
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