Musical 'Animal Farm' to Rock Porter Theatre

Westmont theater arts professor Mitchell Thomas tackles one of the 20th century’s most enduring works, directing George Orwell’s satirical masterpiece “Animal Farm (The Musical).” The rocking show, a collaboration between the Westmont theater arts and music departments, will be performed Feb. 23-25, March 1-3 at 8 p.m. and March 3 at 2 p.m., all in Porter Theatre. Tickets are $7 for students and seniors, $15 for adults, and can be purchased by calling (805) 565-7140.

“Animal Farm” still resonates powerfully today, Thomas says, though it was originally written in 1945 as a response to Stalinist Russia. “Wickedness, corruption, greed, ignorance and power can turn any human into an animal and turn an animal into a human,” he says. “The domestic and international scenes seem particularly charged right now with the Arab Spring, the Tea Party and Occupy movements, our 2012 election year in the U.S., and much more.”

The musical features an ensemble cast of 15 student-actors, including seniors Felisha Vasquez and Reyn Halford, juniors Sarah Phillips, Jackie Dressler, Shawnee Witt and Sam Martin, sophomores Mak Manson, Micah Sapienza, Paige Tautz, Chris Wagstaffe, Ben Offringa and Anna Weicht, and first-year students Peter Matthews, Analicia Hawkins and Elaine Pazaski. Maddie Thomas, 9, from Cold Spring School is the child narrator. The stage adaptation is by Peter Hall with music by Richard Peaslee and lyrics by Adrian Mitchell.

Thomas, who recently starred as the troll king in “Peer Gynt,” says the student-actors have enjoyed discovering the many ways that “Animal Farm” speaks to them through politics, religion, agriculture and foreign policy. “We’re also having a great time dressing up like animals and singing some rock music,” Thomas says.