BHHS puts on time-period-correct musical

BLOOMFIELD HILLS — Momentarily step into 1930s England during Bloomfield Hills High School’s production of “Me and My Girl” Nov. 21-23.

The musical is about a cockney man who inherited the fortune of his long-lost father, who passed away. However, in order to collect his inheritance, he is required to learn to fit into high society. When describing the show, Bloomfield Hills theater director Mary Bogrette said it’s “The Princess Diaries” meets “My Fair Lady.”

Bogrette said she is a fan of this show and chose it for the fall musical because it has a funny script and many instrumental parts for the orchestra.

“This show has been dubbed by critics as the No. 1 most neglected musical because it’s so outstanding, and people rarely do it,” Bogrette said.

Senior David LaBond plays the leading man, Bill Snibson. LaBond said that he was excited to do a show that he was not previously familiar with.

This production is entirely student-led and has over 100 BHHS students in the cast, crew and orchestra.

Bogrette said she has the “dream team.” She said the students have shown dedication to the show and the seniors have been great role models for the underclassmen who are just learning the ropes of theater.

Senior Emily Kruger is one of the production stage managers on the show. This is the first time she has been in a position this high on a big show.

“The show gave a lot of opportunities for me to learn and apply my skills in something that I had never done before, because all the other shows I’ve stage managed for have been different in many ways, so it was just another way for me to learn new things and experience more,”  Kruger said.

Seniors Trudy Gechter and Jenna Roumayah both play comedic antagonists in the show. Gechter plays Lady Jaqueline of the royal family, and Roumayah plays Duchess Maria of the royal family. Both said their characters’ personalities are very different from their own.

“It challenges me in a different way, because I’m acting in ways that I didn’t know I could bring out,” Roumayah said.

As for the costuming and set design, Bogrette said they were intentional in trying to make it all time-period correct. In preparation for the show, a lot of research went into each decision to make sure it was accurate, including finding out which way the men’s hats should be tilted. When building the set, they even looked up what the British royal family country estates looked like. She added that a lot of the women are going to have to wear wigs because of the differences in modern hairstyles.

Performances will be held at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 21, and Friday, Nov. 22, and at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 23. People can purchase tickets online at bhhs.ludus.com or in person the day of the show at the box office.