INWOOD — When the Pied Piper Children’s Theatre's artistic director left the program late last year, the families whose kids were enrolled stepped in — taking on everything from stage coordination and set design to lighting for its latest play play.
The results will show on Friday night, when the theater group — which has put on more than 100 shows since it debuted in 1999 — stages its newest production, “Thoroughly Modern Millie.”
“A bunch of people in the community have jumped in to coordinate,” said parent Kevin Kunkel. “In a way it’s been a rebirthing for us.”
Kunkel has been doing stage management, while another parent with kids in the program, Janet Murvin, has helped with costume and set design.
"This is the first time I've been doing this here, and this sense of community has been very rewarding," said Murvin, who's also done costume and stage design for other productions.
Gustavo Camps, who has been a part of Pied Piper since the program was founded, said he and his wife Janice have volunteered their time over the years, but this season he's been focused on design for promotional materials like postcards, as well as photography, video and "whatever else is needed."
The group's managing director, Yvonne Bill, agreed.
“It’s been a beautiful thing to see how this community has pulled together,” she said.
Bill, who stepped into the role late last year, said when interim artistic director Colleen Hawks suggested the musical, the goal of the show was to help build the theater's community and “give kids substantial and good roles.”
“We have about 35 kids, and we wanted each of them to get roles they could sink their teeth into," Bill said.
Hawks, who has performed in Broadway shows ranging from "Smokey Joe’s Café" to "Shrek the Musical," said putting on "Millie" would be a great experience for the children because of its upbeat tunes.
“It’s a really fun show to do,” she said.
Sofia Tirado-Ortiz, 17, who plays one of the Millies, said she’s happy this was the new show selected for the team.
“At the beginning, we went through all the teen things, being petty [about all the changes to the group], but we took a step back and realized we should be worried about creating a story that everyone can relate to and enjoy,” she said.
Tirado-Ortiz said the show is a "breath of fresh air" after everything that happened in recent months. “I’m just really glad we’re doing this show.”
"Thoroughly Modern Millie" will run from April 1 through April 3, and then again from April 8 through April 10 at the Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, 20 Cumming St., between Broadway and Seaman Avenue.
