Gotta dance, gonna sing
"A fusion of music and dance, that's what this is going to be," says Andrew David - the producer of the latest theatrical extravaganza that is to hit the boards of the Bishop's College Auditorium from September 14 - 16, at 7:00 p.m.

"Bless 'em All" is not to be just another musical evening. Neither is it going to be an evening dedicated to dance and drama. It's a mixture of both. The junior school of Bishop's College will first present a series of musical hits ranging from the times of Mickey Mouse to the Shirley Temple era while the senior school will come together with a few others to present a mixture of Broadway classics. But the highlight of the evening will be a condensed version of "Mary Poppins".

The difference between this and other shows of the same nature is that as Andrew David points out, "Each piece, whether being acted out, sung in unison or rhythmically choreographed will complement the next piece. There aren't too great jumps in the variety of items to be presented."

Amongst the Broadway classics to be staged are "Oklahoma", "I could have danced all night", "Annie get your gun", "Don't cry for me Argentina" and "Hello Dolly".

The main purpose of the show? "To provide a podium for all the little ones to display their talent. When the idea was first mooted, the main priority was to encourage maximum participation. It is to be a school show after all and the primary objective then is to encourage teamwork."

Over five hundred turned up at the initial auditions. "We heard them all and finally selected the best of the best. The cast numbers a little over four hundred." It has undoubtedly been a Herculean task for all those involved. Mary Anne David is the choral and overall director whilst Beatrice Devasagayam is the production co-coordinator. Oosha Sarvanamuttu is the choreographer whilst Miriam Gunaratne and Metabi Gunesekera provide a riot of colour in their costumes. Peter Prins, Kamalini Samarakone and Neranjan de Silva provide the musical accompaniment.

The cast of Mary Poppins includes Andre David, Hashintha Jayasinghe, Ruvini Fernando, Eshanya Weerawarna, Dayan Fernando, Savithri Udakandage, Anjuli Gunaratne, Purnima Pilapitiya and Stephanie Nicole. "As part of the show has a musical angle to it we needed male voices to complement the roles. So a few of the Merry An Singers have been invited to perform."
-Ruwanthi-

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