The timing couldn’t be more fitting for Oceanside Middle School’s production of Nottingham, A Totally Teen Musical.
With the threat of one high school in the area closing and the student body having to amalgamate with the other, the tale told by the 35 OMS students in Bruce Martin’s musical production has particular resonance.
Nottingham, A Totally Teen Musical presents an interesting riff on the Robin Hood tale, where two schools are blended together, with the Saxons, who live on the wrong side of the tracks, being oppressed by the Normans, under the evil influence of John Prince, ably performed by Daniel Handley.
In an interesting bit of gender reversal, the hero, Robin Loxley — otherwise known as Robin Hood — is played as a female character by Brooke Roy and Marion is played as a male, with Ryan Trimble doing the honours.
When Prince gets his goons to steal the lunch money of the Saxon horde, Robin and Marion spring into action and arrange a fitting retribution for the evil and manipulative Norman and his crew, eventually bringing the students from the two factions together as one.
So how was it? The production wasn’t Broadway material obviously, but the students sang and danced their hearts out and there were some real flashes of talent — both in some of the leading characters and those with less prominent roles. The writing was strong and there were some clever lines that were delivered well by the cast, adding to the entertainment value.
Anybody who wants to catch a glimpse at some of Oceanside’s future dramatic talents learning their chops can still catch Nottingham, A Totally Teen Musical on Thursday, June 2 and again on Friday, June 3 at Oceanside Middle School.
