Broadway Kids spread love of performing arts in County

PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — When Caribou native and playwright Darci Faye started the youth theater group Broadway Kids in the County in spring 2017, she hoped to give Aroostook County children opportunities to participate in local theater that she did not have while growing up.

“When I was growing up, there wasn’t much in theater programs for elementary and middle school students, so I wanted to bridge that gap,” Faye said before her group’s first Broadway Revue of the year on Friday, March 30. A second performance of the revue was held the following evening.

Broadway Kids in the County is located in the Aroostook Centre Mall in Presque Isle and invites students as young as 4 years old to high school age to take part in plays, musicals, revues and playwriting and acting workshops throughout the year. The idea for the theater company came to Faye last year after conducting a six-week after-school theater program at Wintergreen Arts Center, which resulted in the musical production “We Are Monsters” performed at the University of Maine at Presque Isle.

Faye herself has been immersed in theater throughout much of her adult life. She previously attended Primary Stages in New York City, where she workshopped her plays and received feedback from fellow playwrights.

While attending UMPI, she revived the campus drama club, the University Players, and directed a production of her play “Infinitely Yours.” The play centered on themes of domestic violence and was performed at UMPI by four off-Broadway actors from New York who are also friends of hers. In 2016, “Infinitely Yours” was selected as part of the summer line-up for “Planet Connections,” a New York theater festival.

Through Broadway Kids in the County, Faye wants to share her love of theater with young performers and help many of them break out of their shells into strong, confident actors and singers. Some of the group’s recent shows include the summer 2017 musical “Giants in the Sky,” the Christmas show “A Kooky Christmas,” and a comedy playwriting workshop.

On March 30, “Overused Theater Songs” was the theme of that night’s Broadway revue. The performers ranged in age from 9 to 15 and sang solos, duets and group versions of songs from famous Broadway musicals such as “Hairspray,” “Les Miserables,” “The Lion King,” “Anything Goes,” “Gypsy,” “Cabaret” and “Shrek the Musical.” Dressed in costumes that matched the Broadway characters they portrayed and using few props, the children embraced their camaraderie onstage and gave the audience a show that had them applauding and smiling throughout.

“He likes to perform all the time at home, so it’s great that he has an outlet for his creativity,” said Beth Morrison, whose son Trai Parent, 9, performed with Broadway Kids for the first time Friday. Parent, of Washburn, made the audience laugh with his energetic performance of “I Just Can’t Wait to be King” from “The Lion King,” dressed as the main character Simba, and in his improvised portrayal of Humpty Dumpty during the group finale “Freak Flag” from “Shrek the Musical.”

“At the end of the song I decided to fall down on the stage in costume,” Parent said, referring to “Freak Flag.” “I like making people laugh.”

Mia Brewer, 11, of Presque Isle, stated that her favorite songs to perform were “Castle in the Sky” from “Les Miserables” and “Freak Flag.” She has been performing with Broadway Kids in the County for almost a year.

“I like singing and acting. I’m going to audition for ‘Shrek’ this summer,” Brewer said.

Auditions for the Broadway Kids’ July production of “Shrek the Musical” will be held on June 11 at the Aroostook Centre Mall. Other upcoming programs include a six-week comedy acting workshop based on The Carol Burnett Show starting on Tuesday, April 10, and a Broadway revue of “Songs to Inspire” on April 27 and 28, at 7 p.m

For more information on upcoming classes and programs, visit the Broadway Kids website, http://broadwaykidsac.weebly.com/ or Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/CountyKidsTheatreCo/.