Choir students at Ola High School will soon bring Broadway to Henry County, in what has become a local theater tradition for local audiences.

  The 2020 installment of Ola Over Broadway is set for January 10-11, 2020. Performances are scheduled for January 10 at 7 p.m., and January 11 at 3 p.m., and 7 p.m., at the Henry County Performing Arts Center, 37 Lemon St., in McDonough.

  Mindy Forehand, choir director at Ola High School, is overseeing this year’s Ola Over Broadway production. She said the popularity of the 2019 show led to a few changes time around.

  “Last year, we sold out the performances, and we had to turn people away,” said Forehand. “So this year, we’re going to do three shows for the public. “It’s a Broadway review show put on by the 170 Ola High School choir students,” she continued. “There are 17 numbers in the show from

musicals such as ‘Hairspray,’ ‘Sister Act,’ ‘The Greatest Showman,’ and ‘Mamma Mia.’”

  Forehand said Ola Over Broadway, now in its sixth year, is a consistent hit with local audiences.

  “The entire community looks forward to it,” she said. “It’s just high energy, constantly moving and changing. It makes people who don’t like musicals, love musicals.”

  Ola Over Broadway, Forehand said, is not the only significant moment on the horizon for her students. She recently received an invitation from MidAmerica Productions for her choirs to perform at Carnegie Hall with the New England Symphony Ensemble in June of 2021.

  “This is the first time for any Henry County music program,” said Forehand. “This is an incredible opportunity for all of my kids, and every one of them deserves to go. Our success is due to all of the kids in choir, not just the 50 who can afford a trip to New York, so I am determined to make sure that happens.”

  Twelve-year veteran Broadway performer Brandon Ellis will be conducting workshops with the students in preparation for Ola Over Broadway. He will also perform the song “Gold” from “Once,” with the Chamber Singers, the high school’s top choir, as part of Ola Over Broadway.

  Ellis made his Broadway debut in 2007 in a revival of the Stephen Sondheim musical titled Company. In addition to a three-year stint in the original cast for Once, which was named Best Musical at the 2012 Tony Awards. He also took the stage in London in 2017, originating the role of Davy Zlatic in Bandstand.

  Ellis said his friendship with another stage performer with Henry County roots led to his involvement in Ola Over Broadway.

  “Years ago, before I was on Broadway, I worked at a restaurant called Ellen’s Stardust Diner in Times Square,” said Ellis. “I waited on Mindy, and one of my good buddies, Jared Bradshaw, is from the area. Through that mutual connection, Mindy asked me to come down.”

  Bradshaw, originally from McDonough, was a featured performer in the 2019 Ola Over Broadway production. Ellis said he is looking forward to following in his colleague’s footsteps for the 2020 show.

  “It seems like everything’s very professional, very well organized,” said Ellis. “It seems like it’s going to be a top-notch experience. I hope that I can share with [the students] things that you can only learn by being in the industry for over a decade. I hope that I can help them be better actors in musical theater and maybe give them some professional advice on how to get started.”

  Hank Sledge has performed in Ola Over Broadway for all four years of high school. Now a senior, Sledge is looking forward to taking the stage for the 2020 production after working on it throughout the school year.

  “I have a few numbers where I’m one of the main singers singing a song, and I have a few numbers  where I’m a backup singer and a dancer,” said Sledge.

  Sledge said working on Ola Over Broadway has helped to build camaraderie among his fellow choir participants. He said he is particularly looking forward to working with Ellis for the production.

  “From all that I’ve heard, he is phenomenal,” said Sledge. “I’m looking forward to getting his input on the different numbers we’re doing to make sure that this year is the best year we’ve ever had.”

  Sledge said after high school, he plans to follow his passion for performing in college.

  “I’m trying to find a place with a good balance of music and theater, because both have been a big part of my high-school life,” he said.

  Fellow senior Jared Brooks has also participated in Ola Over Broadway throughout high school. He said he will perform in most of the numbers for this year’s production, in varying capacities.

  “I believe I’m involved in 12 or 13 of them,” said Brooks. “I’m a lead in three numbers, and the rest of them, I’m either part of the dancers or the ensemble. I really enjoy singing lead, but I also enjoy being in the ensemble too, because it’s good to see how important the number is to the production as a whole.”

  Brooks plans to Reinhardt College and major in vocal music education. He said he has enjoyed working with his fellow students to “put on the best show in Henry County in front of a sold-out crowd. He said Forehand has worked to ensure that no student in Ola Over Broadway gets “lost in the background.”

  “We have such large numbers, with a lot of people in them,” said Brooks. “Ms. Forehand and the senior officers work really to make sure everybody feels important, like the number wouldn’t be the same if they weren’t in it.”

  For tickets and more information, visit https://olahighschoolchoir.thundertix.com. For more on how to make contributions for the choir’s trip to New York, e-mail mindy.forehand@henry.k12.ga.us.