By Joanne Bailey-Boorsma
joanne@wktv.org
Actors’ Theatre of Grand Rapids is doing something a little different this month — the family-friendly production “The Burnt Part Boys.”
“Actors’ is known for doing awesome, sometimes controversial productions,” said director Jolene Frankey. “So it is kind of fun to be able to do something that is entirely family friendly. It is a wonderful treat for our awesome core patrons along with providing us an opportunity to reach people who wouldn’t normally come to an Actors’ production.”
Opening on Friday, Feb. 1 (due to the weather), “The Burnt Part Boys” takes place in the Appalachian mountains of West Virginia and follows the story of two brothers, 14-year-old Pete and his older brother Jake.
A report over the radio announces the plans of the Pickaway Coal Company to reopen a mine where a collapse and fire killed the brothers’ father 10 years earlier. The spot is called “the burnt place.” Jake has been picked to lead the reopening, angering Pete who vows to destroy “the burnt place.” The announcement leads both boys with friends in tow on a journey of self-discovery with the ghost of the miners following their progress.
“The music is so distinctive,” Frankey said as to what drew her to “The Burnt Part Boys.” To be honest, the songs from the show are not familiar and Frankey added that the show’s “obscurity is its charm.”
“The music is really reflective of what is taking place,” Frankey said. “It is an eclectic blend of various music such as folk and pop, all wrapped into musical theater. It has such an unusual feel yet it is so authoritative. It is not a hokey rendition of the backwoods of the Appalachians.”
There are guitars and banjo to chains and lead pipes all used to create the country- and bluegrass-flavored songs written by Chris Miller and lyrics by Nathan Tysen. The songs, according to The New York Times, “are rousing anthems to dangerous excitements of working the mines.”
Items used in a mine, such as ladders, lights, shovels, are used throughout the production, creating the landscape of the Appalachians with the ghosts of the miners serving as the map the boys follow on their quest to “the burnt part.”
“The Burnt Part Boys” opens Friday, Feb. 1, and runs through Feb. 9 at GRCC’s Spectrum Theater, 160 Fountain NE. Show time is 8 p.m Thursday, Friday, and Saturday and 3 p.m Sunday. Tickets are $24 and $28.For more information or to purchase tickets, visit actorstheatregrandrapids.org.
