8
BEHIND THE SCENES
AUG. 31�SEPT. 7
FROM THE
COVER
Musical rocks the Elgin Opera House
‘School of Rock the
Musical’ opens Sept. 9
By Jennifer Colton
Go! Magazine
ELGIN — The song may tell you to get to
school on time, but this month, if you wanna
be the “teacher’s pet,” you better get to the
Elgin Opera House on time.
Terry Hale and Caitlin Marshall co-direct
the musical based on the movie of the
same name.
The story focuses on Dewey Finn
(played by Trevor Winder), a musician who is
kicked out of his rock band and decides to
impersonate his best friend and substitute
at a private school to pay the rent.
A former La Grande resident who now
lives outside of Portland, Winder is re-
turning to the Opera House stage to play
Dewey.
“I think sometimes a role is made for you
or you’re just made for the role,” Winder
said. “I’m just a silly goofy guy as it is, and I
love kids, love hanging out with kids, so this
is just about perfect.”
Winder is joined in his classrooms by 16
students. Four of the students will accom-
pany the band live on their instruments:
Kaylie Davis on bass, Isaac Morgan on
“If you haven’t seen a show at the Elgin Opera House, this is the one
to see. It’s going to be huge.“
— Trevor Winder
Jennifer Colton/Go! Magazine
The cast of “School of Rock the Musical” rehearses on Aug. 24, 2022. The show opens
Sept. 9 at the Elgin Opera House.
drums, Ely Murphey on guitar, and Henry
Wadner on keyboard. The band “No Vacan-
cy” will also perform its songs live.
“Usually you have an orchestra and a
pit and you have your actors. Here that all
combines together,” Hale said. “ ‘School of
Rock’ is diff erent than any show we’ve done
here. After doing over 60 main stage pro-
ductions, fi nding something unique to do is
a real challenge, and this show is unique.”
The musical includes all songs from
the movie as well as additional music from
Andrew Lloyd Webber.
Hale said the show has been a great way
to stretch the cast.
“This is a fun show for the entire fam-
ily. Adults will love it, the kids will love it,
everyone who comes and sees this show is
going to have a great time,” he said.
Other cast include Shahayla Ononaiye
as Patty Di Marco, Aubrey Winder as prin-
cipal Rosalie Mullins and Chris Dennett as
Dewey’s best friend, Ned Schneebly.
“Ned Schneebly is an old school rocker
who has grown up, got a real job, and is kind
of a timid nerd, but he still has the rock spirit
inside him,” Dennett said. “I think the most
fun part about Ned is that at the end of the
play, he lets his inner rocker out complete-
ly.”
Winder and Dennett both highlighted the
rock ‘n’ roll aspects of the show.
“If you haven’t seen a show at the Elgin
Opera House, this is the one to see,” Winder
said.
“It’s going to be huge.”
“School of Rock the Musical” opens
Sept. 9 and runs through Oct. 1.
Friday shows are at 7 p.m. (Sept. 9, 16,
23 and 30). Saturdays feature performanc-
es at 12:30 p.m. and at 4:30 p.m. (Sept. 10,
17, 24 and Oct. 1).
Most seats are $18 (the upper balcony is
$8) and available at www.elginoperahouse.
com. For more information, call 541-663-
6324
First Friday at Crossroads
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A rt at the C rossroads
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2020 Auburn Avenue
Baker City, Oregon
541.523.5369
www.crossroads-arts.org
Exhibition on display Friday, September 2 through Saturday, October 1
Crossroads is open Monday through Saturday from 10:00am to 5:00pm
Best of Show 2021, Wandering Spirits by Hillery Lay