By VANESSA McCRAY
TRAVERSE CITY -- Your musical theater friends are home from college for the summer: What to do?
Why, break into song, of course.
That's just what a group of old high school pals will do when they reunite on stage for two summer shows by Miracle Productions. The company was founded by Pat Gallagher, who helmed many a musical production at Traverse City Central and West high schools.
"These cast members are students that I have had when they were in high school, and they are in college majoring in opera or voice or musical theater. This gives them a performance venue in Traverse City when they come home in the summer," she said. "This is really a notch up from anything in town ...; these kids will all work in the business."
Two dozen performers will participate in Miracle's two musicals. "The Light in the Piazza" and "Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story" will run at several area venues. "Piazza" is a "vocally difficult piece" that won six Tony Awards, Gallagher said. "Buddy" was chosen to mark the 50 years since "the day the music died" in the infamous 1959 plane crash that killed Holly.
For the performers, the summer musicals are a chance to gain experience and connect with local actors they've known for years.
"It's kind of untouchable -- that experience to have everyone come back from their collegiate experience and to kind of collaborate all of those experiences into one hometown (production)," said Juliana Kartsimas, who is in "Piazza."
A former Traverse City West student, she attends Michigan State University and is a vocal performance and music education double major. Kartsimas said preparing for the musical will give her "an idea of what a professional job is going to be like."
Trevor Kolle, a West graduate who is studying voice at Michigan State, plays a lead role in "Piazza." He said it's especially fun to work with a director whom he knows well and a familiar cast. The show itself is challenging, including the requirement to perform in Italian.
"It's actually quite a contemporary show, just the way it's composed," Kolle said. "It keeps moving in new directions."
"Piazza" starts at 7:30 p.m. July 16-18 at Milliken Auditorium and then heads to the Leland Performing Arts Center on July 23-24. "Buddy" will run Aug. 6 at the City Opera House in Traverse City, Aug. 8-9 in Leland and Aug. 13-15 at Milliken. Tickets are $25 for premium seats and $20 for regular seats. For more information and ticket orders, visit the Web site miracleproductionstc.com.
