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Thursday, April 22, 2021
GO! magazine — A&E in Northeast Oregon
Elgin Opera House returns — on screen
■ Buy tickets to view ‘High School Musical Jr.’ online
By Lisa Britton
Go! Magazine
ELGIN — Terry Hale was tired
of life without theater.
“I’d just reached the point where
I knew we had to do something,”
said Hale, the executive artistic
director at the Elgin Opera House.
He reached out to youth actors
around the region and found that
they too were craving the stage.
In early December he decided to
try “High School Musical Jr.” He
held auditions three weeks later.
He expected a dozen people.
“I put out a little audition call
and we were blown away. We’ve got
actors from four different counties,”
he said. “Everyone was desperate
for an opportunity to get together
again.”
The cast numbers 70.
When he started rehearsals,
Union County was considered “ex-
treme risk” in the state’s pandemic
rating system. This risk level re-
stricted group gatherings, so Hale
and his team had to be creative.
They divided the cast into groups
of 10 actors.
“It was a puzzle,” he said. “We
had to go through the entire script,
every song, and break it up into
seven pieces.”
Rehearsals for each small group
required masks, temperature
checks and extra sanitation.
Rehearsals weren’t the only
challenge. At the extreme risk level,
there couldn’t be an audience, so
Hale decided to fi lm a performance
that would be watched online (see
box at right for details).
Hale and his team have created
a fi lm version of the production
with the goal of replicating a live
theater experience as much as pos-
Courtesy of the Elgin Opera House
The performance, which was fi lmed in small groups to follow health guide-
lines, may be watched online at scheduled times April 24-May 2, 2021.
sible. The licensing company Music
Theater International stipulated
that the production had to seem
as “live” as possible with the entire
show recorded in the theater space.
“We recorded everything as
individuals or very small distanced
groups,” Hale said. “The entire cast
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ON THE COVER: Abigail Hale (right)
at the Elgin Opera House Friday, March 19,
Musical Jr.” (Alex Wittwer/EO Media Group).
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Mon-Thurs 8am-5am
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Thursday 8am-12pm
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WEEKEND OUTLOOK
HOW TO WATCH
Purchase tickets for a specifi c
date and time. You have to log
in at the time on your ticket —
the show cannot be paused or
watched later.
Watch parties to view the re-
corded production will be held
at the Elgin Opera House for up
to 100 people on a fi rst come,
fi rst served basis. Tickets must
be purchased in advance. (This
is subject to change — call to
confi rm.)
SHOWTIMES
•฀฀April฀24:฀4:30฀p.m.,฀7:30฀p.m.
•฀฀April฀25:฀7:30฀p.m.
•฀฀April฀29:฀7:30฀p.m.
•฀฀April฀30:฀7:30฀p.m.
•฀฀May฀1:฀4:30฀p.m.,฀7:30฀p.m.
•฀฀May฀2:฀4:30฀p.m.
PURCHASE
Go to elginoperahouse.com
and click on “order tickets.”
If you have questions, call
the Elgin Opera House’s box
offi ce at 541-663-6324.
Be safe, wear masks,
stay distanced: we will
get through this.
Thank you. Mae
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gestures to another actor during mic checks
2021, during rehearsals of “High School
has never been together in one
room.”
Those recordings were mixed
to sound like one cohesive group
performance.
“Some of those songs have 70
different voices,” he said.
For instance, the song “Status
Quo” is set in a high school cafete-
ria and features every teenager in
the cast.
“Each one is at their own table,
— we fi lmed each table separately,”
Hale said.
The set is a mixture of the stage
from “Newsies” (the last produc-
tion held at the Opera House) and
“Matilda,” which was canceled in
the spring of 2020 due to the coro-
navirus pandemic.
Although this musical will be
different from traditional Opera
House shows, Hale said everyone
has worked extra hard to make it
happen.
“The same amount of passion,
work and dedication went into this
show — if not more,” he said. “It’s a
huge commitment and a big invest-
ment of their time and energy.”
Tickets are $17 for a single
viewer. There are other price op-
tions for group viewings.
“This show costs me as much
as any other show,” Hale said. “It
was a big investment. It’s a labor
of love.”
OPEN for private classes only.
Please call 541.519.8802 to schedule.
Or, email mbybakercity@gmail.com
1923 Court Ave, Baker City, Oregon
(541) 519-8802
FRIDAY
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