Youth Theater Presents PIPPIN Feb. 19, 20

The Clayton Youth Theater has scheduled three performances of its winter musical, PIPPIN, at The Clayton Center in February. The first performance will be Friday, February 19 at 7:30 pm, followed by two performances Saturday, February 20 at 2 pm and 7:30 pm.

PIPPIN is the story of a young prince who longs to discover the secret of true happiness and fulfillment. He seeks it in the glories of the battlefield, the temptations of the flesh, and the intrigues of political power, but ultimately finds it in a most unlikely place. A fairy tale with a twist, PIPPIN will leave audiences pondering their own "corner of the sky."

Led by Director Nikki Dyke, Music Director Ann Meigs and Choreographer Dawn Dees, the cast and crew consists of 26 area students in grades 7-12, representing 8 public schools and the homeschool community--Clayton High School, West Johnston High School, Garner Magnet High School, Cardinal Gibbons High School, Smithfield-Selma High School, Clayton Middle School, Riverwood Middle School and Cooper Elementary.

CAST
LEADING PLAYER - Jordan Clifton
PIPPIN - Justin Ryals
CATHERINE - Ashlyn Biggers
CHARLES - Ian Garnish
FASTRADA - Jordyn Johnson
LEWIS - Kibre Ethridge
BERTHE - Victoria Callus
THEO - Nicholas Kraft - Friday and Saturday evening shows
THEO - Luke Parkis - Saturday matinee

BAND OF PLAYERS
Kristen Bagley
Alexis Crocker
Michael Marshall
Jordan Monk
Jessica Rogers
Jonathan Royal
Brandon Spencer
Hailey Spencer
Amelia Ubinas
Sydney Williams

CREW
Hannah Craig
Denim Patrowice
Muhammad Amin
Padmanabh Phadke
Victoria Peach
Tiffany Ryan

Tickets can be purchased by calling The Clayton Center box office at 919-553-1737 or visiting http://www.theclaytoncenter.com/.

The Youth Theater's work is supported by the Town of Clayton through a recent $10,000 grant from the Cultural Arts Grant Committee. The CYT also received funding help for PIPPIN from the Johnston County Visitors Bureau.

Founded by Dyke in 2007, and adopted by the Clayton Cultural Arts Foundation, the Clayton Youth Theater was established to showcase the talents of area middle school and high school students, while bringing high quality productions to the community. The CYT presented its inaugural production, Little Shop of Horrors, in the summer of 2007. PIPPIN is the theater’s fifth production.

“The Clayton Youth Theater is small, but mighty," Dyke said. "We need more kids to get involved, we need larger audiences, and we need contributions from businesses and individuals to fuel our growth. Clayton is ready for this.”

For further information about the Clayton Youth Theater, please visit http://www.claytonyouththeater.com/.