ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times

DATE: Friday, August 16, 1996                TAG: 9608160021
SECTION: CURRENT                  PAGE: NRV-3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG
SOURCE: KATHY LU STAFF WRITER 

MUSICAL BRINGS DREAM FROM THE SHOWER TO THE STAGE

Murray Bosniak of Floyd County always dreamed of being on stage. He just didn't know when it would happen.

"I love singing and I always sang in the shower and in the car," Bosniak said. As Emile de Becque, he is the leading man in "South Pacific," Bosniak's first major musical production. "I knew in the back of my mind that I'd be singing on stage someday."

"South Pacific" is the New River Valley Summer Musical Enterprise's fifth production, which will give Bosniak and about 80 other volunteer actors and actresses the chance to take the Squires Haymarket Theatre stage on Wednesday's opening night.

Summer Musical Enterprise productions are nonprofit projects based solely on volunteer help from the New River Valley. Between 300 and 350 people have played a part in putting "South Pacific" together this summer.

"Dealing with the wide range of personalities here is one of the hardest parts of the production," said Ed Schwartz, musical director and one of the founders of the summer theater program. He moved to Christiansburg eight years ago. "We have problems with getting volunteers every year - we don't have an oboe or bassoon player, for example - so we have to make do with what we have."

The production board begins working on the summer's play in September, when it chooses which show to produce. The play is usually a recognized Broadway production, with such past performances as "Oklahoma!" and "Fiddler on the Roof."

The board then has to choose a director, choreographer and hold auditions in March and April. The cast this year ranges between the ages of 5 and 70. Meanwhile, contributions are collected and advertisements sold to help finance the sets and costumes. All props and set pieces are built from scratch every year.

Three-night-a-week rehearsals for the entire cast begin in June at the Christiansburg High School theater and last until opening night.

"The reward for me is two-fold - I like working with the different people. It's like taking a cross-section of the community and watching it grow up," Schwartz said. "And two, I like the performance. I like to see the audience come out and be captivated by the magic of the theater."

Though some of this year's volunteers are new like Bosniak, others are old hands at it and have been participating in such projects all their lives, such as the director, Bob Gribben.

"I got bugged by community theater in the first grade," Gribben, 63, said. He currently lives in Blacksburg but has helped the numerous communities he has lived in with various productions, including variety shows and "Jesus Christ Superstar."

"I was expecting talent from this cast and they have tremendous talent. And the group is also crazy, there's always joking going on."

Gribben said the scene changes are the most challenging parts of "South Pacific" because they have to take place on stage, in the dark.

"We're trying to minimize the blackout time and doing them in front of the audience makes them more difficult," he said.

"South Pacific" opened on Broadway in 1949 and ran for 1,925 performances. Among others, it took Tony Awards for Best Musical, Music and Script. "Some Enchanted Evening" is one of the most popular songs from the musical.

The story is based on the James Michener's book, "Tales of the South Pacific," set on an island in the South Pacific during World War II. The plot centers around two couples - a French planter and American nurse and an American Marine and Polynesian woman - who are trying to overcome the surrounding prejudice and greed.

"I didn't know that the play was so deep before I started," Bosniak said. "It's about the human race getting together and loving each other. It's a perfect play for me and has helped me to grow as a person."

LENGTH: Medium:   76 lines
ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO:  ALAN KIM/Staff. The cast and orchestra rehearse a scene 
          for New River Valley Summer Musical Enterprise's production of 
          "South Pacific," premiering Wednesday at 7:30 p.m.  at Squires 
          Haymarket Theater at Virginia Tech. color.