Homeschool Theatre Club plays the notes of ‘The Music Man’

Gideon Holcomb, 18, started acting with the Flathead Valley’s Homeschool Theatre Club when he was 12 and his passion “escalated to an obsession.”

For Holcomb, the club’s spring production of “The Music Man” with performances this weekend, is a point of connection for him and other homeschoolers across the valley.

“I’ve always loved the uplifting community at the [Homeschool Theatre Club],” Holcomb said. “Everyone’s looking to help each other feel good about their performance. That’s not something you always find in theatre.”

The Homeschool Theatre Club’s production of “The Music Man” runs March 27 through March 29 at the Whitefish Performing Arts Center.

The musical features the story of a traveling con artist who poses as a band organizer and targets the residents of a small town by selling band instruments and uniforms. He plans to skip town without giving any music lessons, but when he meets librarian and piano teacher Marian, he risks being caught to win her heart.

After graduating high school early, Holcomb has been taking classes at Flathead Valley Community College for a year and a half, studying musical performance and education.

He’s in three productions simultaneously this spring. In addition to starring in a quartet and as Tommy Djilas in “The Music Man,” he’s part of “Pirates of Penzance” with FVCC, and is part “Cinderella” with Northwest Ballet School. With every show, he loves the musicality the most.

“I love musical theater because if you need to do something more than acting to convey the emotion, you start singing,” Holcomb said. “If you need to convey more than singing, you start dancing.”

He said that while he’s “no great dancer, a little clumsy sometimes” he loves it, nonetheless.

“The fact that I can have so much fun dancing while the audience has fun watching, it’s super cool.”

Senior Keira Reed, 17, started with the theater club when she was 9 and is another charismatic leader of the group, filling a “team mom” role for a crew of about 75 children, ranging from age 8 to those who have already graduated high school.

“I love being with the little kids,” Reed said. “They’re like my babies, and that’s such a fun part. And the older kids, I’ve grown up with them.”

Reed said her favorite part about “The Music Man” in particular is the ensembles. As a lead, Marian the librarian, she “gets to be a part of the cast through ensembles,” she said. “Sometimes the hard part about being a lead is not feeling like you’re a part of the group, but this year I am.”

Reed said Marian the librarian is “very snooty but has a big character arc. She’s a little bit hard on the exterior and sweet underneath, and I can relate to that. It’s full circle in the end and the audience will love her.”

Outside of theater, Reed said she’s serious about continuing her “big kid job” as a Venetian plaster artist with a company called Endura Surface that she started with one of her brothers.

“We do things like rock finishes with marble and limestone over fireplaces and walls. We can travel; we just finished a project in Phillipsburg,” Reed said.

“The Music Man” runs March 27 at 7 p.m., March 28 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m., and March 29 at 1 p.m. and 6 p.m., at the Whitefish Performing Arts Center.

The show is the theater club’s 19th production and director Suzie Wambeke has been at the helm of every show.

“This show is bigger,” Wambeke said. “The acting and dancing is off the charts. Keira’s musical numbers are beautiful.”

Wambeke said lead Harold, played by Wyatt Szymoniak, doesn’t hardly leave the stage for the approximately three-hour long show, filling his “swindler” role with forte.

The show “is about a quaint town,” Wambeke said. “And this guy [Harold] is coming to take advantage of them — but he ends up falling in love with people and the town.”

Wambeke said that musical talent runs through the whole crew, including lighting and sound techs.

Admission is by donation at the door with card, cash or check. But seat reservations are recommended and can be made ahead of time at ticketleap.events/tickets/homeschooltheaterclub/musicman.