SOUTH ROYALTON — Rehearsal was in full swing on Tuesday afternoon in the White River Valley High School’s “small gym” as students prepared for next week’s opening of “The 39 Steps,” a comedic spy thriller based on the 1935 Alfred Hitchcock film of the same name.
A handful of actors ran lines on stage, while a few painted set pieces, and others worked on homework, chatted to each other on the edges of the gym or scrolled on their phones.
“We’re all friends,” said senior Nuala Doyle, a South Royalton resident who co-stars as the sarcastic love interest Pamela, and who has participated in WRVHS shows on and off since she was a freshman. “Those are the people I hang out with outside of the play, too,” she said.
“The 39 Steps” is among the dozen or so Upper Valley student theater productions coming up in the next couple months. Like WRVHS, which is preparing to say goodbye to a cohort of dedicated players as they near graduation, other troupes are in a state of flux, as younger actors join and veterans prepare for a new chapter.
Trumbull Hall Troupe, a theater program for kids in grades six through 12, for example, has welcomed a large cohort of middle schoolers into the fold this season.
The influx of young participants is part of what inspired director Lanni Luce West to pick “Matilda the Musical,” which is based on Roald Dahl’s children’s book about a precocious school girl with special powers, for this season’s production, which opens on Friday at Lebanon Opera House.
With over 40 participants, this cast is among the largest THT has seen in recent years, a sign that the “COVID bubble” that caused youth theater numbers to stall after the pandemic may have finally burst, Luce West said.
While the younger actors get their feet under them, “the older kids have stepped up to be role models,” Luce West said. “They want these kids to have the same experience that they did.”
Among the newcomers to the cast this season is 11-year-old Hartford Memorial Middle School student Anna Jacobson who will star as the musical’s titular character.
“Everyone’s been really welcoming,” Anna said in an interview at the opera house.
While “Matilda” marks her first show at THT, Anna’s interest in theater goes back to when she and her dad would sing karaoke together at the now-closed Skinny Pancake in Hanover when she was about 5. Since then, she’s participated in camps at Northern Stage and other area theater programs.
Anna will star opposite Quinn Chartier, a senior at Hartford High School who plays Miss Honey, the warm-hearted kindergarten teacher who takes Matilda under her wing.
Chartier has been a part of THT since sixth grade, when she played a paper boy in “Newsies.” She’s also one of the Hartford High School students participating in “Matilda” as well as the high school’s production of “Nice Work if You Can Get It,” which opens next Friday.
Set in the 1920s, with music by famed Jazz Age duo George and Ira Gershwin and complicated tap dancing numbers, “Nice Work” is an ambitious show for high school students, music director Andrea Nardone said, but they’re up for the challenge.
“They’re probably the most focused cast I’ve had,” said Nardone, who started producing shows at the high school in 2019.
The same could be said of the cast of “Water for Elephants” at Lebanon High School, six of whom have been working with Upper Valley Circus Collective to master the musical’s circus arts.
“The kids have really stepped up and jumped right in, and they hit the ground running,” said Shannon Aridgides, LHS’ choral and theater director.
Here’s a list of student theater productions on the horizon:
Hartford High School‘s production of “Nice Work if You Can Get It” is up Nov. 14 through 16. For tickets ($10 for adults; $7 for students and seniors) and more information, visit hartfordhighschool.ludus.com.
Kearsarge Regional High School’s production of the musical “Damn Yankees” is up on Nov. 14 and 15 in North Sutton, N.H. For tickets ($10 students; $12 for general admission) and more information, go to www.kearsarge.org.
Lebanon High School’s production of “Water for Elephants” runs Dec. 5 through Dec. 7 at Lebanon Opera House. Tickets are by donation and can be arranged at the door. For more information, go to lebanonoperahouse.org or call 603-448-0400.
Oxbow High School’s production of “Mean Girls Jr.” is up from Nov. 13 – Nov. 15 in the school’s auditorium in Bradford, Vt. Admission is by donation. To learn more, visit oxbowhighschool.org.
Rivendell Academy’s staging of “Cinderella” is set for Nov. 6, 7, 8 in the school’s gym in Orford. Tickets ($5 for students; $10 general admission) can be purchased at the door. For more information, go to ra.rivendellschool.org.
The Sharon Academy’s production of “Bye Bye Birdie” is up at Chandler Center for the Arts in Randolph on Nov. 21 and Nov. 22. For tickets ($17 for adults; $12 for children) and more information, go to chandler-arts.org.
Thetford Academy’s production of “Puffs,” a parody of the Harry Potter book series, is up Nov. 21-23. For tickets ($10 for adults; $5 for students and seniors) and to learn more, go to thetfordacademy.simpletix.com/.
Trumbull Hall Troupe’s production of “Matilda the Musical” runs from Nov. 7 through Nov. 9 at Lebanon Opera House. For tickets ($15-$30) and more information, go to lebanonoperahouse.org or call 603-448-0400.
White River Valley High School’s “The 39 Steps” is slated for Nov. 14 and 15 at the high school in South Royalton. Tickets ($10 for adults; $5 for students and seniors) can be purchased at the door. To learn more, call 802-763-7740.
Windsor High School students are slated to perform “Mamma Mia!” at 7 p.m. on Dec. 5 and 6, and at 1 p.m. on Dec. 7. Tickets (by donation) are on a first-come, first-served basis.
Woodstock Union High School’s Yoh Theatre Players will perform “Alice by Heart,” a musical set in World War II London and inspired by Lewis Carroll’s “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland,” on Dec. 12 through Dec. 14. For tickets and more information, go to yohtheatre.com.
More theater to come
On Nov. 21 and 22, Parish Players will host the sixth iteration of the Hunger Benefit Cabaret at the Eclipse Grange Theatre in Thetford. The shows feature performances from a wide range of styles, including a capella and pop numbers. Proceeds from the two nights will be donated to the Vermont Foodbank and Listen Community Services to help families who are feeling the pinch of federal cuts to SNAP benefits. For tickets ($25; $20 for seniors; $15 for students) and to learn more, go to parishplayers.org.