CCP Students, Faculty presents Broadway Our Way Today-27

Broadway Our Way, the annual showcase of the Performance Education Center of Cumberland County Playhouse-which features dance, theater, musical theater and all manner of stagecraft-will be presented at the Crossville theater April 25-27.

Dave Kirk Automotive, original corporate sponsor of the education center, returns to sponsor the production.

"We're excited to have Dave Kirk Automotive join us again," says education director Weslie Webster, "as we work our way through 100 years of Broadway favorites, and put a contemporary spin on them with our fantastic tots, tweens, teens and all students."

In addition to musical numbers from Broadway, stagecraft classes wrote selections that theater classes are performing.

As CCP pro and teacher Greg Pendzick explains: "My stagecraft class is kind of an 'everything that has to do with theater that doesn't fall directly under acting' class. We've done units on stage combat, makeup, and playwriting. In this case, we were studying dramatic play structure, and one of their assignments was to condense a full length musical into a 3 page script. When I got their assignments back, they were so terrific; I decided that the intermediate acting class should perform them for the April showcase. It fit the theme of Broadway Our Way very well! The result is a piece we're calling 'One-Minute Musicals.' Broadway Our Way features all aspects of CCP's theatre and dance education program-a celebration of music, dance and acting."

Dave Kirk's commitment to the ongoing training and exposure to the Arts for youngsters has touched many lives since his first Playhouse sponsorship in 1987, and he spearheaded support of The Playhouse Education Department through 2003. Several of Dave Kirk Automotive employees have children who have participated in The Playhouse Education Center.

Broadway Our Way runs April 25-27 at the Cumberland County Playhouse, with performances April 25 and April 26 at 7:00pm and April 27 at 10:30am. Tickets can be purchased at www.ccplayhouse.com or by calling the box office at (931) 484-5000.