Northwest students present Theatre Showcase

Photo: Northwest Mississippi Community College theatre students performing in Merchant of Venice at the Northwest Fine Arts auditorium in their 2023 spring performance. (Photo credit: Sarah Smith)

by Sarah Smith

Northwest Mississippi Community College’s Fine Arts Department will present their Theatre Showcase, a selection of musical theater and student directed pieces, on May 4 and 5 in the Northwest Fine Arts Auditorium at 7 p.m.

“This features Northwest musical theater and general theater students presenting pieces and techniques that they have been working on all semester,” said Alyssa D. Algee, chair of theater at Northwest. “Our Musical Theater pathway students are presenting work selections from a variety of different popular musicals.”

Pieces will be performed from such musicals as “Newsies,” “Beetlejuice,” “CATS,” “Shrek!,” “Dear Evan Hansen,” “Ride the Cyclone,” “Anastasia,” “Mean Girls,” and more.

This event is to promote the hard work the students have done to grow in their craft and all the hard work that instructors have put in to help these students find their path. Many of these students are a part of a new pathway at Northwest, the “musical theater pathway” that allows students to learn music in a different way.

“They are all ridiculously talented and varied in the way that they approach music and performing,” Algee said. “I would say that the biggest challenge has been finding the right music for them, their voice, and their acting ‘chops,’ combined with the need to encourage them to grow. They are all amazing and truly inspirational.”

Algee said that she has learned so much from these students. She said this new role has been a sort of education for her as well as the students as they both grow through these experiences. She is excited for this showcase as it is an opportunity to show everyone what they’ve been doing.

“It will be a lively and varied collection of all different forms of theater with the purpose of allowing our students to really stretch their legs and show off what they’ve been working on all semester!” Algee said.

Admission is free, but donations are appreciated. The donations will go toward the local domestic violence shelter, House of Grace.