2 county students land top roles in classic
Two Butler County students have navigated a competitive audition process to land prime roles in the Pittsburgh Musical Theater's production of “The Sound of Music.”
The musical opens tonight for a seven-show run through Feb. 3 at the Byham Theater in Pittsburgh.
Brecken Farrell and Jessica Ortiz, both students in the South Butler School District, will take the stage as Von Trapp children, Brecken as younger son, Kurt, and Jessica as eldest daughter, Liesl.
Brecken, 11, has been studying musical theater since he was 6 years old and has appeared in more than a dozen shows with the Musical Theatre Guild of Butler and Sing Hosanna! and at his school, South Butler Intermediate.
Some of his favorite roles have been Joey in “The Reluctant Dragon,” Jerome in “South Pacific,” Fruma Sarah in “Fiddler on the Roof,” Louie in “The King and I,” and the Tin Man in “The Wizard of Oz.”
He began taking classes at PMT in the fall, and was cast as the little boy in “Cinderella” and as Peter Cratchit/Young Ebenezer Scrooge in “A Lyrical Christmas Carol.” He studies voice and piano as well.
Brecken is the son of Glenn and Michelle Farrell of Saxonburg and is in the fifth grade.
He was recently selected by his music teacher to be recognized by the Butler County Symphony as a member of its “Young Musicians of Note.”
Jessica, a ninth grade student at Knoch High School, started taking classes at PMT in the fall and has performed in two of its productions, “Cinderella” and “A Lyrical Christmas Carol.”
She has performed in numerous musical productions in Butler with the Musical Theatre Guild, Summer Dramatics and Sing Hosanna!In “The Sound of Music,” Jessica is playing the role of Liesl, the oldest of the seven Von Trapp children. Her favorite song in the show is “Sixteen Going on Seventeen” in which she gets to sing and dance with the young messenger, Rolf.Jessica said she has learned much through the entire process, from the first round of auditions down to the long rehearsal hours needed to put on a professional production.Unlike past shows she has been a part of locally, PMT has a very short but intense rehearsal schedule before the curtain goes up. Rehearsals started on Jan. 7, slightly more than two weeks from opening night.Jessica is the daughter of Ron and Carolyn Ortiz of Penn Township.The Rodgers and Hammerstein award winning musical includes the songs “Climb Every Mountain,” “Do- Re-Mi,” “Edelweiss” and “My Favorite Things.”The show is being directed and choreographed by Colleen Petrucci with musical direction by Deana Muro.Curtain is at 7:30 p.m. today, Friday and Saturday as well as Feb. 1 and 2 and at 2 p.m. Sunday and Feb. 3, all at the Byham Theater, 101 Sixth St., Pittsburgh.Tickets range from $12 to $44. Call 412-456-6666 or visit pittsburghmusicals.com.
