There are new kids on the block – the 300 block of First Street in Birdsboro.
The 1st Street Players are bringing “Big the Musical,” the Theater for Young Audiences version, to the Birdsboro Community Theater at 301 E. 1st Street.
The new theater is run by a board of eight members. The 1st Street Players started from scratch, and have overcome some road blocks to create a new theater production group in Birdsboro.
Artistic director Melissa Kaufmann has put together a cast of 25 for the show, both kids and adults. In addition to working on the show, they have helped raise money to fix up the building with new paint and decor.
“Big the Musical TYA” is based on the movie “Big” starring Tom Hanks. It’s a story about a 12- year-old boy named Josh who is going through typical teenage struggles. He finds a magic fortune telling machine at a carnival and makes a wish to be big. When he wakes up the next morning “big,” he has to deal with life as an adult – from finding a job, dealing with coworkers, to love interests and making his way in life.
The show has great music and dancing and even features a 16-foot floor piano that the cast actually plays in the show.
The show stars Nathan Patton as Josh Baskin, with Bence Veres as “little” Josh, Ben Daniels as Billy, Amy Swartz as Susan, Jess Pennington as Mrs. Baskin, Steve Daniels as Mr. MacMillian, Chris Weiss as Paul, and Olivia Gardella as Miss Watson. The children’s ensemble includes Maddy Okkerse, Keely Shellhamer, Natalie Brown, Gabby Sembello, Lindsay Rawson, Marlee Fetrow, Andrew Bausher, Dakota Dengler, David Hutchko, Sean Mulligan. The adult ensemble includes Deb Kasdras, Molly O’Brien, Megan Centeno, Melissa Kaufmann, Greg Boyer, Aaron Higgins and Bill Eschbach.
The show is directed and choreographed by Melissa Kaufmann with Bill Eschbach as stage manager and Nathan Patton as music director. It runs Friday Saturday and Sunday, with performances August 7 at 8 p.m., August 8 at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. and August 9 at 3 p.m. Tickets can be reserved by calling 610-220-8209 or at the door. Tickets are $22 and $15 for children 12 and under. You can find out more on Facebook under 1st Street Players or at www.1ststreetplayers.com. The email address is 1ststreetplayers@gmail.com.