On Stage!, a recovery program housed at Washington State University Spokane that serves mental health consumers, will present its musical theatre company, Theatre Extraordinaire, at 7:30 p.m., May 6 in the Spokane Metropolitan Center for the Performing Arts.
The free public event titled “Hats Off Spokane!” will feature both original and familiar songs, including music from the Broadway musicals “Little Mary Sunshine,” “The Music Man” and “Annie Get Your Gun.” Donations to support the program will be accepted at the door.
“This performance is an opportunity for the cast to display their talents and abilities, and the accomplishments they are achieving on the road to recovery,” said Donna Douglass, producer and director of On Stage! “In addition, this event educates the public through reducing stigma and dispelling the myths that are so often associated with mental illness.”
Emcee for the evening will be Rick Hornor, chair of the Whitworth College theatre department. Guest artists will be members of the Celtic Nots, a local performing group.
Many community volunteers will be involved in the production, including several elementary school children from Discovery School and their parents, back stage and lobby personnel, makeup artists, musicians and performers.
The show is produced and directed by Douglass and choreographed by Katherine Crow, both of the Washington Institute for Mental Illness Research and Training at WSU Spokane.
On Stage! is the only one of its kind in the Pacific Northwest. The organization’s mission is to prepare its students for community re-entry through skill building, personal development and an improved quality of life, and to educate the public about mental illness.
