St Francis Xavier C o l l e g e Mu s i c a l Comes Out Guns-Blazing
St Francis Xavier College and the Performing Arts Department proudly presented Bugsy Malone the Musical from Monday 19 August – Friday 23 August, involving over 200 students and teachers both back stage and on stage. Bugsy Malone is a dynamic and entertaining musical about gangsters in America in the late 1920’s. It’s your classic gangster mob rivalry infused with an awkward boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy sort of gets girl again! A classic and somewhat confused plot that involves lots of brilliant ideas that go awry such as bumbling gangsters, police that can’t find their own feet and everyone getting ‘splurged’! SFX restaged this fine musical that was originally presented when the College was known as St Francis Xavier High School. There are students who were in that production who have children at our College today so for them it was a walk down memory lane. Some of those in the past production have gone onto major roles in the Performing Arts. Staging a musical is as much about the process as it is about the final production. The backstage dramas that take place follow the same storyline as most best-selling productions, with casting dramas, budget blowouts and a complicated climax – “a climax ladies and gentlemen never before seen on public stage”. Bugsy was the combination of many hours of preparation by students and staff from all Departments in the College. Preparation began back in Term 1 with auditions, casting and rehearsal. Over the last few months the musicians practised and the production team developed the set, costumes, props, sound, lights and front-of- house designs. Many dedicated students and staff were involved in bringing this production to the stage. Thanks must go to the Production team: Director Peter van Rijswijk (Performing Arts Coordinator), Production Manager Bec Gay (Year 12), Assistant Director Rosina Mansson-Passeggi (Teacher) and Stage Manager Tanya Gruber (Performing Arts Technical Assistant).
Mr Angus Tulley, Principal St Francis Xavier College, Florey ACT