A group of local high-school students are just days away from bringing Broadway to Henry County.
Ola High School will present the fifth annual “Ola Over Broadway” program, January 14-15 at 7 p.m., at the Henry County Performing Arts Center, 37 Lemon St., in McDonough.
The event will feature choir students from the high school performing a variety of well-known stage productions, including “Les Miserables,” “Rent,” “The Book of Mormon,” and “Guys and Dolls.” Mindy Forehand, director of choral activities at the high school, called the concert “one of the most anticipated shows in the county.”
“People legitimately like to watch this show,” she said. “It’ll make you laugh, cry and enjoy music you haven’t heard in years.”
Forehand said the choir program at Ola High School has grown considerably in recent years, largely due to the popularity of the annual concert.
“There are approximately 170 kids in the show,” she said. “When we started this show five years ago, there were 50. This show is the reason the program has grown. Everyone wants to be in this show, and you have to be in the choir program to be in the show.”
Forehand described “Ola Over Broadway” as a “fully-staged, choreographed and costumed Broadway review show.” She said it features music from 13 different shows, with 13 numbers that her students haven’t performed prior to this year.
“The first performance is ‘The Greatest Showman,’” said Forehand. “We are literally turning the stage into a circus. There will be contortionists, jugglers, people on stilts and unicycles. We’re ending with Gloria Estefan’s ‘Get on Your Feet.’ We’re planning to quite literally have the audience on their feet by the end of the show.”
The choir director added that plans are already in the works for the 2020 “Ola Over Broadway” production.
“We start working on it the day after the last show from the year before,” she said. “I’ve already got one number that’s started being choreographed for next year.”
Broadway veteran and McDonough native Jared Bradshaw assisted Forehand with staging and choreography for the concert. Bradshaw recently returned to Henry County to perform in a show honoring Bing Crosby, and stayed to help the students prepare for “Ola Over Broadway.”
Bradshaw praised Forehand for her ability to put together a quality production, and to motivate her students.
“It’s a big success and an impressive show,” said Bradshaw. “Mindy’s inspiring to those kids and she cares about it.”
Forehand’s husband, Chip, is the front of house engineer for “Ola Over Broadway.” He credited Bradshaw with opening the students’ eyes to help them see how they could improve.
Chip Forehand added that audiences can expect to see a “well-oiled machine” when the curtain opens.
“It’s because we have a lot of people who are passionate and dedicated to what they do in helping us,” said Chip Forehand.
McKenzie Scott, 18, is a senior at Ola High School and is participating in “Ola Over Broadway for the fourth straight year. Scott said she enjoys singing in the show every year.
“Performing has always been a joy, too, and doing it with friends makes it even better,” she said. “We do work really hard for everything we portray to the audience. Each song does have a different message.”
Scott said she has relished the opportunity to work with Bradshaw, in particular.
“He’s a very talented man,” she said. “I picked up so many emotional strategies to connect with the audience. He’s very into what he does. It’s like another set of eyes and ears to listen to what we’re doing.”
Hudson Akin, 17, of McDonough, is a junior at Ola High School and has performed for the last three years in “Ola Over Broadway.” He is slated to appear in most of the numbers during this year’s show as well.
Akin said the program is a good way to bring students together for a large performance.
“It really shows off our skills because we’re running around, having fun and dancing,” said Akin. Tickets are $10 in advance and $15 at the door. For more information, call 770-288-3222.
