A made-in-Kelowna musical Society for the "Prevention of Rock and Roll" featuring music from the 1950s before rock and roll came along premiered at Okanagan College's Red Dot theatre this week with shows through the weekend.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/Michael Minions
October 25, 2024 - 7:00 PM
A made-in-Kelowna musical featuring music from the 1950s before rock and roll came along premiered at Okanagan College's Red Dot theatre this week with shows through the weekend.
Kelowna writer, director and piano player Michael Minions is the man behind Society for the Prevention of Rock and Roll, a musical aimed at revitalizing popular songs the 50s.
Minions hopes to instil in the audience members a sense of nostalgia for music before rock and roll took over the world.
“These are songs you don't usually see performed. The jazz guys don't do them, the rock bands and bars don't do them. It's a different collection of music and some of it would be very nostalgic, for seniors especially,” Minions said.
With 40 segments of well known songs involved, as well as dance numbers, Minions sets the stage with a Reverend from a make-belief church set in Kelowna, determined to revive inoffensive music before “evil rock and roll” damages the ears of the youth. The Reverend hosts talent show auditions, showcasing locals singing their hearts to get a slot in the show and hide the new world from the future generations.
Inspired by an old songbook from the 50s, Minions found some of the most popular hits from the time and wrote the libretto around the songs. He said the script is very minimal and the showing is particularly song focused.
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“They're fun songs that I like to play... I don't want them to disappear and I think other people might like them, or remember them or think about, ‘oh yeah, the mythical early 50s before rock and roll invaded the valley’", Minions said.
The cast and crew range in age from 14 to 70.
“My job is to create a playing field and set some rules and then see what the actors bring to the story,” he said. “It's very much a co-creation between me as the author, director, piano player and each of the actors, and they were encouraged to bring their ideas to it.”
Before retiring, Minions was the educational technology coordinator at Okanagan College for 15 years, worked in media production for the school district as well as creating TV commercials.
There are still tickets available for Society for the Prevention of Rock and Roll this weekend. You can buy them here.
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