Broadway comes to DeBorgia during concert

DEBORGIA – Friday evening, the Old DeBorgia Schoolhouse was filled with the operatic songs from Hollywood and Broadway.

During the Broadway Comes to De Borgia performance, Derek and Shelly Larson, accompanied by Anita Bailey on piano, sang six songs from the stage and screen. The songs ranged from classic Broadway and Hollywood songs to a few more contemporary selections.

During intermission homemade cookies and brownies provided by the Happy Homemakers were available. The Schoolhouse Foundation provided coffee and lemonade.

The performance seemed to be a hit. John DuBois, one of the chief organizers of the event, said 100 chairs had been set up in the schoolhouse and estimated 90 were filled. After the performers took a bow to a standing ovation, they presented an encore performance.

Singing Over the Rainbow, the couple started alone with Bailey’s accompaniment. Then, in a seamless transition, members of the audience joined in. It seemed to be a perfect moment before one noticed how the choir had sheet music to sing from. Though it was planned, the encore was beautifully done and added a nice element of community closeness to the evening.

DuBois was pleased with the outcome of the event. He said the crowd would likely have been even better had a snowstorm not moved in for the evening. However, those who did brave the weather seemed to enjoy the show immensely. Based on comments heard after the performance, DuBois feels there is plenty of interest in future events, whether as soon as next month or annually.

“In other words, it went over really well,” said DuBois. “People are still talking about it.”

According to DuBois, this was the first event of its kind in two or three decades. He said only a few people remember the last time there was a performance arts event in the area. One of the last performance events consisted of a handful of people reciting monologues, speeches and poems.

The Larsons were also happy with the outcome of the event. According to DuBois, Derek emailed him Saturday morning to express how happy he was with the outcome.

Derek felt the response was very enthusiastic and was pleased to hear everyone enjoyed the performance.

According to Derek, the idea for the performance was first tossed around in the late summer. Approximately two months ago, plans were solidified and began to transform into reality. One problem encountered was in which songs would be performed, given the Larson’s training.

“Shelly and I are more classically trained and some ideas were thrown around about having more [contemporary] music,” said Derek.

After some negotiations, the organizers met in the middle to have performances of music from Broadway and films. It was decided to do popular Broadway songs and ones, which had been recently reintroduced.

In the first half of the show, the Larsons sang Tonight from West Side Story, Think of Me and All I ask of You from Phantom of the Opera, 76 Trombones from The Music Man, All Love Can Be from A Beautiful Mind and Still Dream from Rise of the Guardians. After a brief intermission, the Larsons sang Till There Was You from The Music Man, Only Hope from A Walk to Remember, Sunrise, Sunset from Fiddler on the Roof, I Dreamed a Dream, from Les Miserables and The Prayer from Quest for Camelot.

Derek and Shelly both studied vocal performance. Derek achieved a Master’s degree in vocal performance from the University of Oregon as well as one in education from MSU and now works as the music teacher at St. Regis Public School. Shelly studied at Montana State University. Both have since performed in numerous operas and operettas. The couple like to perform in small communities.

Derek feels there is definitely interest in future performances. He said it would be nice to have other performers in the community participate and bring about the goal of the Old Schoolhouse as a community events destination, he would not be against another performance like this one.

“My wife and I would be glad to present music again,” Derek said. “We both believe very much in bringing the arts to communities like this.”