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‘Terabithia’ debuts here in the Valley
The director’s son composed a score for the play.
YOUNGSTOWN — “Bridge to Terabithia,” the childhood fantasy story that was made into a popular movie in 2006, makes its Mahoning Valley premiere this week.
The Youngstown Playhouse’s Youth Theatre will present the play to students Wednesday through Friday, and to the public Saturday afternoon.
Local theater veteran Molly Galano is directing “Bridge,” and she’s made it into a family affair. Her oldest son, Jesse Morgan, composed the score, while her youngest son, Cheney Morgan, a senior at Boardman High School, is on the crew.
Jesse, 23, is a student at the Columbus College of Art and Design. He’s an engineering student, but has a love of music and theater.
“Jesse composed a score for ‘The Giver,’ which I directed last year for the Youth Theatre, so I asked him if he could do it again,” said Galano.
Adding underscoring to a straight play is a nice way to enliven it, Galano noted.
Jesse, who plays guitar, keyboards and piano, not only wrote the music, but performs it. He augments his own instrumentation with his computer, and laid it down on a CD, which will be played during the play.
“Bridge to Terabithia,” adapted from the Newbery Award-winning novel by Katherine Paterson, focuses on two youngsters who create a fantasy kingdom (“Terabithia”) they create in the woods. The two are safe from bullying when they are in their own world, which also provides a source of strength and healing when tragedy strikes.
The cast includes three adults — Carl Brockway, Kim Marsico and Jessica Paull — and nine children, ages 10-14: Andrew Brockway, Hannah Lanza, Grace Offerdahl, Taylor Wamsley, Donny Wolford, Danielle Goodrich, Stephanie Marsico, Joseph Assente and Justin Assente.