Our Lady of the Valley School Drama Department to Stage MULAN, JR., 11/8-10

Our Lady of the Valley School Drama Department will present Mulan, Jr. on Friday, November 8 at 7:00 p.m.; Saturday, November 9 at 5:30 p.m.; and Sunday, November 10 at 2 p.m. in the OLV Family Life Center (Gym). Michael R. Bridges directs the show. Tickets may be obtained at the door or by contacting Melanie Norman at melanie@thenormanclan.com. For further information, call 991-5963, ext. 239 or visit the school Web Site at www.olvbirmingham.com.

Our Lady of the Valley School is located at 5510 Double Oak Lane at the corner of Highway 119(Cahaba Valley Road) and Caldwell Mill Road in north Shelby County.

The cast features nearly 100 performers ranging from first through eighth grades. The confident, assertive young woman Mulan will be played by veteran actress Victoria Peters, an eighth grader who has been performing at since her early years at OLV. "Victoria is gifted with a tremendous singing voice, acting ability, strong dancer, and is an expert martial artist. She fits the part so perfectly, and I know audiences will see her that way too and delight in her performances as I have working with her to get ready for the role," said Michael Bridges, director. Another seasoned eighth grader, Nick Buttrey, portrays Shang, the brave Chinese army Captain, and Mulan's romantic interest.

"Although in this story," Bridges added, "Mulan is not a 'Disney princess' and the couple is not your typical 'live happily ever after type.'" Nathan Fisher, and eighth grader who has had several starring roles at OLV, plays the comical, whimsical, somewhat bumbling dragon Mushu, who helps Mulan every step of the way to defeat the Huns and win back the family honor. The story is capably held together by the storytelling and music of the Ancestors portrayed by eighth graders Bailey Glasgow (Laozi, Ancestor of Honor), Anne Sherman (Lin, Ancestor of Loyalty), and Reed McLean (Yun, Ancestor of Love) and seventh graders Olivia Fant (Zhang, Ancestor of Strength) and Cassie Ambrose (Hong, Ancestor of Destiny). Shan-Yu, the evil leader of the Huns, is played by eighth grader Cooper Gray, who takes on the challenge of playing a heavy role after typically playing comic ones.

Others featured in the cast are these seventh graders: Jackson Shields and Madelyn Vaughn as Mulan's parents, Fa Zhou and Fa Li respectively; Alecia Hobdy as the wise-cracking Grandmother Fa; and James Ciamarra and Emma Akerman as Chi Fu and Chi Fang, the haughty Chinese bureaucrats. The comical trio of Mulan's army buddies are C. J. Romano (7th grade) as the "tough-guy" Yao, Chandler Norman (6th grade) as the spacey Ying, and Jaxon Bast (6th grade) as the gentle-spirited Quian-Po.

Rounding out the cast are Justin Boackle (6th grade) as the Emperor; Avery Martin (6th grade) as the Matchmaker; Nick Stamps (5th grade) and Zane Boackle (4th grade) as the Hun henchmen Subar-Tu and Magyar; Tessa Elward (7th grade), Alyce Voisin (6th grade), Julia Wolter (6th grade), Kirsten Hassinger (6th grade), Madison Como (5th grade), Sarah Buttrey (5th grade), Raquel Tamberello (5th grade), Olivia Beland (5th grade), and Ella Donahue (5th grade) as the delightful hairdressers, groomers, and dressers; and Eden Howard (2nd grade) as the Cricket.

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