‘School of Rock’

Lewiston Civic Theatre

It’s a show that rocks so hard they had to cast it twice.

The Lewiston Civic Theatre’s production of “School of Rock,” based on the 2003 movie starring Jack Black, opens tonight and continues at 7 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays through June 23 at the old Lewiston High School auditorium on the Normal Hill Campus, 1114 Ninth Ave.

The show, with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, opened on Broadway in 2015. It tells the story of a floundering rock singer/guitarist who substitute teaches at a prep school where he forms a student rock band behind the back of the strict principal.

The lead characters are double-cast because of the rigor of the roles, vocally and instrumentally, with TJ Richardson and Monica Evans leading the “Rock Star” cast and Grant Benjamin and Jennifer Opdahl starring in the “Legends” cast, as band leader Dewey Finn and principal Rosalie Mullins.

The actors playing the young band members and manager, who are required in the show’s licensing agreement to be 14 or younger, are double-cast as well.

“They’re all equally amazing and different in good ways, too,” director Amy Baker Stout said. “This definitely is a show that’s worth coming and seeing both versions.”

The kids all came to the roles as musicians, Stout said, but they’d never played in a rock band before: That was something they’d learn together.

Auditions for the show were way back in August, it was cast in the fall and the young band members were rehearsing by January.

“This is not the kind of show where you can just walk onto the stage with a script in your hand,” Stout said.

The orchestra started rehearsing at the end of April, and “the kids just folded into that really nicely, because they were ready.”

While the timeline for actors and musicians to prepare for the show was longer than usual, set construction happened in record time.

“We tried something we’d never done as a company,” Stout said. “We rented the set for this show.”

The Palace Theatre in Pocatello had done “School of Rock” a couple of years ago, and when Stout put out the word the Lewiston Civic Theatre was looking, a deal was arranged. Civic theater sets typically are designed and built by community members, Stout said, and while this one went up in a day, the need for more people power will return with the next show.

“We need more volunteers,” she said.

Putting on a musical of this scale, with the talent and skill required, was a group effort, Stout said.

The cast totals about 40, with almost 20 crew members and an eight-person orchestra. All told, there are five electric guitars, three electric bass guitars, three electric keyboards and three sets of drums. The sound board operators use 47 channels of a 48-channel mixer, Stout said: “It’s huge.”

Shelly Renzelman conducts the orchestra, Andrew Thompson did the choreography and Stout is joined by Sarah Daniels for music direction; all are theater veterans.

“I would say this is the biggest, craziest show I have ever tackled in my life,” Stout said. “And I’ve done a lot of shows.”

Tickets, $12-$20, can be purchased at lctheatre.org, by calling the box office at (208) 746-3401 or at the door, if any remain.

The show is rated PG for mild profanity and includes loud noises and strobe lights.

‘Beauty and the Beast’

APOD Productions

Details gleaned from a visit to Disneyland Paris adorn APOD Productions’ set for its staging of “Beauty and the Beast,” opening June 14 at Moscow’s Kenworthy Performing Arts Centre.

Scenic designer Erin Jepsen, a longtime community theater volunteer, used a technique she saw at Disneyland Paris for decorating the windows of the 16th century Tudor set.

“She got a lot of inspiration also while she was on the European trip,” APOD executive director Rebecca Payne said,

Jepsen drew from castles and quaint village architecture to create a highly detailed set, Payne said, incorporating colors, designs — even the particular shape of rooflines she saw — into her work.

“She’s an artist and she does just beautiful work,” Payne said.

The small community theater company draws from talent across the Palouse, putting on one show a year at the Viola Community Center and remaining shows at the Kenworthy.

“Storytelling is really at the heart of what we do,” Payne said.

“Beauty and the Beast” brings five choreographers together for a variety of complex numbers, culminating with “Be Our Guest,” familiar to anyone who’s seen the Disney movie.

“We’re doing the most complex choreography that we’ve ever done,” Payne said.

The company balances artistic excellence and involving people of all levels, including those new to theater.

“We welcome that, and that’s a really important part of our organization,” Payne said. “We want all ages, all skill levels to be involved.”

Graduates from the University of Idaho’s Lionel Hampton School of Music are frequent participants in the shows.

“We love to be able to give them an outlet to be able to sing and be in a show that’s being taken really seriously,” Payne said, noting APOD’s music director, Peter Hanes, attended the school.

This production includes young people who’ve “kind of grown up with APOD,” Payne said, such as 20-year-old Isaiah Mitchem, who plays the candlestick, Lumier, and is a choreographer for “Be Our Guest,” and 25-year-old Heidi Payne, who started in theater at 8 years old and graduated from UI with a theater minor; she’s a choreographer and in the ensemble for this show.

The show runs 7 p.m. June 14-15 and 20-22 and 2 p.m. June 15-16 and 22. Tickets, $8-$25, are at apodproductions.org and at the door, if any remain, at the Kenworthy, 508 S. Main St.

Summer Musical Theatre Camp shows

Regional Theatre of the Palouse

Students participating in Regional Theatre of the Palouse’s Summer Musical Theater Camps will stage four shows this summer at RTOP, 122 N. Grand Ave., Pullman.

The performances are the culmination of workshops that teach singing, dancing and acting, meant to “inspire the next generation of theatre enthusiasts.”

• “Stepping into the Spotlight,” June 17-21.
• “Wonderful World of Disney,” June 24-28.
• “Hollywood Premiere,” July 8-12.
• “Broadway Show Review,” July 15-19.

Tickets are $8 for adults and $5 for children 12 and younger. More information is at rtoptheatre.org/programs/#summer-camps.

Stone (she/her) can be reached at mstone@inland360.com.