Musical Theatre MAP’s performance and excursion

By Maksim Recht

Every year, the musical theatre MAP puts on an original musical created and run completely by students. This year’s musical was called ‘The Disappearance of Charles Parker’. During the first two weeks of term four, the students put time during and after school into doing technical and costume rehearsals, as well as polishing up whatever needed to be polished. 

A tech rehearsal is a rehearsal with all the lights and sound (and for actors can usually be quite boring). In week three, we put on our show and it was a great success. Some called it the best MAP show that has ever been performed. It was set in the 1920s, and was about a trio of detectives who are trying to expose the cheese-selling crime boss Baron Von Baron (Played by me) when one of the detectives gets kidnapped! 

After interrogations, chase scenes, butlers, femme fatales, slightly dim lackeys, cucumbers, cheese, and much more, we realize one of the detectives double crossed everyone and was secretly working for Baron Von Baron the whole time. 

In fact, the show was so amazing that the kids from Ballam Park Primary School who came to see it gave us some fantastic testimonials:

Oonagh - I loved the show because it was fantabulous and the actors were very good.

Max - it was absolutely hilarious.

Olivia - I felt like I was part of the show.

Angie - The performers were very energetic.

Zarli - I like the topic of the show and how it's not something like pets banned, that instead it’s cheese! I love how they recognized the background people who weren’t on stage as well.

Riley - That it felt like not just kid performers but professional, like something I would pay to watch.

Mayah - They did really good. Instead of making tiny likely mistakes and they made it feel like they were in real life and actually happening. 

The week after the show, the MAP went on an excursion to the city! We did a fun scavenger hunt type activity at the NGV, got lunch at a food court and then went to go see a musical! The musical we saw was “The Neil Diamond Musical: A Beautiful Noise”. It was super fun, upbeat and interesting. Everyone really enjoyed it and it was a super fun, well earned day.