By Megan Bildner
Review Intern
After 12 hours of auditioning, Waldon Middle School eighth grader Owen Woityra won the lead role of Evan Goldman in ?13, A New Musical?, produced by the Lakeland Players Association.
The show will be presented at Lakeland High School in White Lake on Oct. 14, 19, 21 and 22 at 7:30 p.m. Matinee showings are being held on Oct. 16 and 23, at 2 p.m.
Woityra was surprised when he found out he received the starring part in the musical about a 13-year-old boy who moves to a new town right before having his Bar Mitzvah and has to make tough decisions about friendship, life and himself.
‘It’s really about being a teenager,? said Debbie Woityra, Owen’s mother. The musical includes a variety of typical high school cliques and the common drama of being an adolescent, she added.
Out of 16 total songs, Woityra is singing in eight and on stage for 13 of them.
‘We’ve practiced three nights a week at Lakeland High School since the summer,? explained the young actor, who’s favorite song to rehearse has been Getting Ready which is sung at the end of Act One.
Megan Slomczenski, a seventh grader at Oakview Middle School, also is in the musical, playing the part of a cheerleader. The musical has a total of 40 actors/actresses ranging in age from 10 to 17 years-old.
13 is based on the book by Dan Elish and Robert Horn. The Lakeland Players Association was established in 1958. It is the largest community theater group in the area and attracts youth and adults from all over Metro Detroit to participate in up to four shows each year.
To order tickets, visit lakelandplayers.net, ticketderby.com, or call 1-888-663-3720. Group rates are available. Persons with questions about the show should call 248-787-5365 or e-mail ThirteentheMusical@yahoo.com.