By John Voket

BETHEL - The summer of 2016 brought a number of exciting firsts for NewArts, the local youth theater and leadership development initiative formerly branded as The 12.14 Foundation, and founded by local physician Michael Baroody shortly after 12/14.

According to the organization's director Michael Unger, who just completed delivering two stellar musicals, featuring three separate casts, to the stage at Walnut Hill Community Church in Bethel, patron excitement and word of mouth feedback propelled ticket sales to new heights.

The first of two productions, a youth version of School of Rock, may have introduced NewArts audiences to a future Broadway Dewey Finn, the cast's lead role. Mr Unger said he was so impressed by Shawn Allen, who played the lovable loser-turned-guitar hero in the NewArts production of School of Rock, that young Mr Allen was invited to audition for casting representatives of the Broadway show, which will be readying travel productions of the musical at some point soon.

That is not to say the entire cast did not sizzle.

"School of Rock, I feel, was a very, very fully realized production," he said. "Not only would any regional theater be proud of it, I feel this School of Rock could compete with any professional production - it could even stand close to the Broadway production."

Switching gears to the summer's second musical, the beloved Wizard of Oz, presented by way of four performances, Mr Unger said the dual cast production was the most ambitious he has staged for NewArts thus far. That production coordinated two full casts including dozens of very young supporting chorus members as Munchkins and residents of Oz, multiple flying actors (and monkeys), special staging, multimedia projections, pyrotechnics, and lighting effects.

And let us not forget the hardworking pup, Cosmo Unger, whose "Toto" appeared in every production, and in almost every scene.

The major technical elements of lighting and sound for the Wizard of Oz were handled seemingly flawlessly under the expertise of Newtown High School graduates and returning NewArts alumni Mitchell Girgasky (lighting designer) and Sean Sonntag (sound designer). Neither cast would have shined as brightly without carefully coordinated costuming and properties, as well.

"I'm happy to say we have been able to keep some of these great theater technicians since we did our very first production of Seussical," Mr Unger said. "We really couldn't have done this season without them. They're so knowledgeable and dedicated, and they're local, which is really exciting."

Both shows utilized spectacular orchestras led by Jeffrey Saver, who brought in a number of young, local musicians alongside veteran pit players including Dante Melucci, who was the original drummer from the Broadway School of Rock production.

Mr Unger said, except for a couple of un-doable staging effects, the productions were staged as he envisioned them during pre-production. That said, he still could have used more time to get all the hundreds of tiny and interconnected details tightened just a wee bit more.

But the show must go on. Despite having to buy two extra days by canceling the first two of six planned Wizard of Oz productions, it appeared that all four remaining productions sold very well and were equally thrilling experiences for audiences, regardless of which cast they witnessed.

"That was our most complicated show, and I feel like we pulled it off well even though we could have used another week of preparation," Mr Unger said. "But there's one thing that this show proved - when the mission is right, people will stop at nothing to make it happen. We had lots of all-nighters, and we saw so many people go beyond the call of duty. When our crew saw the looks on these children's faces, no matter what complications they were facing backstage, people just said they were going to do it until they finished it."

Looking Toward The Holiday Season

With precious little time to regroup, relax, and decompress from the very hectic summer season, Mr Unger is already turning his attentions to the holidays. His planned production of A Christmas Carol will be produced in partnership with Walnut Hill Community Church, which hosted the summer program.

"Our relationship with the Walnut Hill community has blossomed into such a phenomenal partnership, it's going to get even better with A Christmas Carol," Mr Unger said. "We've already started talking about set elements and how we're going to work with some of the set pieces we already used this summer."

While NewArts summer productions are strictly for youths and teens, A Christmas Carol will feature a cast of 50 to 75 local actors ranging in age from age 5 to 70. Auditions for that production will be scheduled in September, with the production staging throughout December.

Mr Unger is looking beyond even that production, mulling the prospect of holding theater education workshops ahead of next summer's musicals - which he of course will begin researching right about the time A Christmas Carol wraps at the end of 2016.

"I just have to say that I have such appreciation for the Newtown community and the parents of all our participants who helped us," Mr Unger said. "And when you're witness to the screaming and the hugs and tears and smiles after the curtains go down, it really elevates the experience to a level I never imagined. And I know that feeling is shared by all the professional crew members that have been working on the show.

"And it's not because of me; it's really about the experience of being in and from this community. The interaction between age groups is empowering for everyone. The young ones work with and feel they have older friends, and the older ones feel powerful because they are important mentors and they are forming leadership roles and relationships that are really magical," he added. "I know from day one, the experience of working with NewArts has changed my life... 100 percent."

For information and updates on upcoming productions and activities, and to make underwriting donations to the nonprofit cause, visit newarts.org.