RMTC to Present BAND GEEKS, 3/16-19

In the spirit of Glee and High School Musical, Red Mountain Theatre Company (RMTC) presents the hilarious and heartwarming Band Geeks, the triumphant story of high school misfits fighting to save their beloved Marching Beavers. The show runs this April 16-19 at the RMTC cabaret. Showtime for Thursday-Saturday is 7:30 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday is 2 p.m. Tickets start at $30 and are available at redmountaintheatre.org.

With just nine members and dwindling funds, the Cuyahoga High Marching Beavers are close to extinction when a troubled football player is forced to join the band. Band Geeks is a celebration of the trials and tribulations of the millions who've marched the football field at halftime. And the show is a celebration of anyone who has ever felt like an outsider.

Just as Oscar Wilde encouraged his readers to "be yourself; everyone else is taken," Band Geeks calls on audiences to embrace their inner geek, reclaiming all that makes us unique.

"That's a universal feeling," says Keith Cromwell, executive director of RMTC. "I fell in love with this show the first time I read it."

A member of the Board of the National Alliance of Musical Theatre (NAMT), Cromwell chose Band Geeks as part of the new works selection committee several years ago. "We selected this show because the script was so funny, and everyone can relate to feeling awkward, out of place, or unaccepted at some point in life. This show is a charming piece for everyone who has ever felt alone until finding their niche."

RMTC is proud that musical theatre students find their niche at the renowned RMTC youth education program. Some of those students, past and present, will be onstage for Band Geeks. "Aidan Alford, who plays Laura, has studied with us since she was a little girl. Her voice is absolutely spectacular. This show is the moment where a student like her, who is inherently talented and has worked hard at her craft for years, has a coming out-revealing to audiences how incredible local talent really is," Cromwell says.

Up-and-coming performer, Hunter Brown, who plays Spitz, is a senior at the University of Montevallo and a graduate of the RMTC youth program. Cromwell says, "I love that we're an organization where a student can grow and learn with us, then return to us as a paid professional in musical theatre."

Band Geeks is a special production in RMTC's schedule, as the show itself is a piece of their conservatory-style education programs. "Each rehearsal began with a one-hour master class, during which students are exposed to multiple facets of running a theatre or being a show business, from set design to development," Cromwell says.

"This cast is really talented," Cromwell adds. "And the show is full of hilarious chaos, fun, and heart-with a message we can stand to hear at any age."

Band Geeks runs this April 16-19 at the RMTC cabaret. Showtime for Thursday-Saturday is 7:30 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday is 2 p.m. Tickets start at $30 and are available at redmountaintheatre.org.

RMTC is a nonprofit theatre that fosters artists, inspires youth and engages audiences through quality theatre and education programming. For more information, visit redmountaintheatre.org.

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