THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, June 18, 1995 TAG: 9506160188
SECTION: PORTSMOUTH CURRENTS PAGE: 10 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY REBECCA A. MYERS, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 55 lines
Five students from Portsmouth will perform Tuesday at Disney World with about 55 other Hurrah Players who have been invited to participate in ``Magic Music Days: A Salute to the Arts and Entertainment.''
Representing the city will be Ben and Mark Gugler, Tiffany Howard, Stephanie Joannou and Rashidra Scott.
Most of the students going to Disney World were in the musical revue ``Showstoppers,'' said Benita R. Sneed, the theater company's office manager.
``Showstoppers,'' performed by the Hurrah Players last month at the Wells Theatre, was a full-length musical revue that featured the history of the movies with a salute to Disney.
To be invited to Disney World, the troupe had to submit a videotaped performance, along with a color photograph of the costumes to be worn in their show. The tape was judged by Disney's creative entertainment staff, according to Jeff Girault, guest talent coordinator for Walt Disney World.
``They take a look at the show and see if it's going to work within the theme park environment here at Disney,'' he said.
The Hurrah Players are scheduled to give a 30-minute performance beginning at 7:30 p.m. at the Disney Village Dock.
Artistic director Hugh Copeland, who just returned from a vacation in London, said the group will perform ``an upbeat musical revue featuring some of the numbers from past productions.''
Magic Music Days is a year-round program at Disney World. Outside entertainers are invited to perform between regular Disney shows, said Girault. They appear at sites throughout the park, including Epcot Center, Magic Kingdom, Disney Village and Disney MGM Studios.
``In between the shows or afterwards, there's a blank stage sitting there, so it's great to have entertainers from outside Disney World come in and show off their talents to the people who are here on vacation,'' Girault said.
The Hurrah Players performed at Disney World once before, about four years ago, said Sneed. In addition to performing, the young players will attend a seminar, where they will learn more about Disney entertainment.
Each of the 83 students and their adult chaperones, most of whom are parents, paid $370 for the entire trip, which includes round-trip air fare, hotel accommodations for four nights, unlimited entrance to all the parks and even some meals.
The group left early this morning and will return Thursday.
Other groups who would like to receive information and an application to perform at Disney World in conjunction with Magic Music Days should call 1-800-833-9806. by CNB