THS choir department to present Broadway Nights at CAC
DAVID STONE | OUR TOWN TEMPLE
They say the neon lights shine bright on Broadway, but on Feb. 3 and 4 the CAC stage will be in the spotlight right here in Temple.
The Temple High School choir department will present its two show choirs — The Polyfoniks and Encore — in the production of Broadway Nights, a show that features musical numbers from plays and movies such as Waitress , The Greatest Showman , A Chorus Line , Oklahoma and Little Shop of Horrors , to name a few.
“This is our big show for the year,” said Cameron Roucloux, who has been the head of THS choir programs for eight years. “The choirs provided the bulk of the chorus for Hairspray this fall and we will be participating in Sound Check in May, but we decided to do Broadway Nights at this time of year so we aren’t competing with other THS events. It’s something new, and we are excited.”
“The students will be wearing tuxedos and gowns, and we hope the crowd dresses formal as well,” Roucloux said. “It’s a good opportunity to dress to the 9’s.”
“We plan to have a spot in the lobby for photos, and I’m trying to find a red carpet to contribute to the formal feel.”
The Polyfoniks and Encore will perform separately and together, and the show will feature a pit band consisting of Temple-area music professionals.
Both choirs have a long history at Temple High.
“The Polyfoniks has been around for 55 years,” Roucloux said, and Encore also has been around a long time. Encore started out as Melody back in the 1970s, then disappeared for a while. It came back in the early 2000’s as Encore.”
The Polyfoniks is under Roucloux’s direction, and Encore is led by Megan Burt. Donna Mischtian serves as piano accompanist for the THS choir department
“Encore is a treble-voice choir and most of the members identify as female,” he said. “The Polyfoniks is a mixed group.”
Roucloux said Temple High choirs began performing at the CAC a couple years ago while the THS auditorium was being renovated.
“We did several shows at the CAC because of the construction, and we loved working with their staff,” he said. “They are so supportive of what we do — we decided it would be a perfect place to perform Broadway Nights .”
Roucloux said Broadway Nights will include about 12 songs and should last around an hour with a short intermission for snacks.
In May, the THS choir department will again be presenting Sound Check , a show that is in its seventh year.
“ Sound Check is not a choir concert at all — it’s something totally different,” Roucloux said with a smile. “It’s a rock ’n’ roll show with a live band.”
Tickets for Broadway Nights are $15 for adults and $5 for students and are available at centraltexastickets.com.
