Franklin School for The Performing Arts Announce DISNEY SHOWCASE for 4/7, Franklin

Three performing troupes from the Franklin School for the Performing Arts (FSPA) have been selected to perform at Walt Disney World during the upcoming April school vacation week. Broadway Bound, Broadway Light and the CenterStage dance company will entertain large Disney audiences and have the opportunity to take master classes with Disney performers and directors. FSPA will feature these troupes on Saturday, April 7 in a Disney Showcase, to be performed at 7:00 p.m. at the Franklin Lodge of Elks, 1077 Pond Street. Ticket proceeds will help defray travel and workshop expenses for the Disney-bound performers.

Each FSPA performing troupe will present a 25-minute show with a specific theme. FSPA’s Broadway Bound will perform songs from A Day in the Life, including “Good Morning Baltimore,” “Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon,” and “Rhythm of the Night.” Broadway Light will perform a set of Wild and Crazy tunes, including Gloriana’s “Wild at Heart,” Steppenwolf’s “Born to be Wild,” Beyonce’s “Crazy in Love,” and Adele’s “Crazy for You.” The CenterStage dance company will perform pieces choreographed to music with a Rain or Shine theme, including the classic “Singing in the Rain,” Adele’s “Set Fire to the Rain,” and “Walking on Sunshine,” by Katrina and the Waves.

In addition to the Disney-bound troupes, Disney Showcase will also feature the musical theater troupe BLT2, with younger FSPA students, and FSPA’s junior dance ensemble Next Step. BLT2 will present songs based on the theme Tutti Frutti, including such hits as “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” and “Chiquita Banana.” Next Step will perform choreography set to “Lullaby of Broadway.”

FSPA’s musical theater staff includes Hallie Wetzell, Tracy Lane, Nick Paone, Kellie Stamp, and FSPA Director Raye Lynn Mercer. The musical theater ensembles are accompanied by FSPA’s resident rhythm section including Mercer, drummer and faculty member Kenny Hadley, as well as bassist and house arranger Mark Poniatowski and guitarist Mark White, both of the Berklee College of Music.

All FSPA performing troupe and dance company members are selected at the beginning of each academic year by audition. These ensembles offer training and performing opportunities for the most committed and talented students at FSPA.

Tickets to Disney Showcase are $25 for adults and $20 for students and seniors, and include a dessert buffet at intermission. Tickets may be purchased in advance at The Spotlight Shop, 34 Main Street, Franklin, or by phone at (508) 528-2887, or are available at the door. For more information, visit www.FSPAonline.com.