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Imost 60 years after it made its debut in London, the mus England, the smash hit Me and My Girl is still that pro delighting audiences with its charming storyline don‘s and splendid musical score. Draytot it was the first show Alex Mustakas â€" local eral yea theatre professional and founder of the highly "Eve successful Drayton Festival Theatre â€" saw in London while there to study acting. The funâ€"filled show captured his heart, just as it has captured the hearts of hundreds of thouâ€" sands of theatre goers around the world. And that‘s why Mustakas is thrilled to be directing Kitchenerâ€"Waterloo Musical Productions‘ version \ of the show, which takes to The Centre in the Square stage this week. 4 "It is my favorite musical. it really is," Mustakas , says. "It‘s the kind of show you‘ll leave humming fi r the tunes and just feeling good. It‘s fresh and it‘s very lively. | really think it‘s the kind of show that is wins people over to musical theatre. Unfortuâ€" »€ * nately, it‘s not as well known. Everybody gets it confused with Me and My Gal, which I think was one of those Tommy Tune shows. But once you get people to see it, they just fall in love with it." Me and My Girl , as Mustakas describes it, is sort of a My Fair Lady with a man in the lead role. It‘s the story a cheeky _ The Cé Lambeth cockney, Bill Snibson, who discovers, much to his surprise, ferent that he has inherited an Earldom. And, because of his lowerâ€"class the or upbringing, Snibson finds himself clashing with the bluebloods of "W British aristocracy who insist he leave behind the love of his life, Sally. _ the we "It‘s a charming, ilat o camss«. _ _ "It‘s the kind of show and | think it‘s kind r s Sz 1+ you II leave humming really about the the tunes and just class system in Engâ€" s t land â€" the lower feeling good. and the upper classes. Everybody‘s â€" ALEX MUSTAKAS rooting for this cockney lad, and love triumphs in the end. Everybody can relate to it, _ the p and they‘re cheering for the underdog, really. music *And the music is so fabulous. Leaning on a Lamppost, for examâ€" and T ple, was made famous by Herman‘s Hermits in the ‘60s. They did kind _ stage of an upâ€"tempo version of the song with kind of a rock beat to it. * And The Lambeth Walk, of course, everybody knows. So there are a _ triple lot of great musical numbers, and it‘s a great show for tap dancing. . dance The show is almost written a little bit like a vaudeville show â€"â€" there Ime Er C fPetals & POLS inc. _ Fower & Gift Shop es WNLRni NO Gary Miller $ SWAGS _ "»x=" CHRISTMAS 1/3on 1/3on Whane 12«) TREF, M2+ By Deborah Crandall MsB , sgos) Reg. 11.95 P doz. tmsrac $4/4 95 KW Little Theatre 9 Princess St. E., SEX Scenes from are a lot of comedy bits, a lot of sight gags, and things like that." KWMP‘s version of Me and My Girl is not Mustakas‘ first stab at the musical â€" Drayton Festival staged it a couple of years ago. For that production, Mustakas brought in the associate director for Lonâ€" don‘s West End, and as a result, many of the comedy bits used in Drayton‘s production were a compilation of bits developed over sevâ€" eral years in England. "Everybody that came to do that role (in London) brought their own little uniqueness to it, ym * M â€" so it (the Drayton ie 4 production) was hea y K# .", kind of the ‘best s e ‘vi N of.‘ A lot of this * '3’ af MJ â€" stuff has sort of * evolved over the d 24. "/ ‘years, and it‘s J i k# "â€"~ E) very, very funny," \ f + 7 e Mustakas says. The Centre in the Square stage is bigger, and because there is a difâ€" ferent cast involved, this production will in no way be a rehash of the one staged in Drayton. e "When we first went into rehearsals, | thought I‘d be able to do it the way we did it in Drayton, but we really couldn‘t. It‘s a stage that‘s 10 times the size, it‘s a different set, and it‘s a different W cast. But it‘s been a really good exercise," Mustakas says. "The one thing that‘s helped me is that | didn‘t need to |g spend a lot of time to research the show and to find out what all the characters were about because I‘d already done & it. The effort that goes into understanding the show was already there." With a cast of 43, Me and My Girl has not been an easy show to mount, but Mustakas has recruited the help of theâ€" [AS . atre professionals with an impressive list of credentials. Behind the scenes, Doug Paraschuk of Stratford Festival is the production‘s set designer, Fen Watkin of Charlottetown Festival is music director, Kevin Frazer of Stratford Festival is lighting designer, and Timothy French (also of Stratford Festival) is choreographer. On stage, the talent is equally impressive. "It‘s not an easy show to pull off because you need people that are triple threats. They need to be able to sing, they need to be able to dance â€" and tap dance, at that â€" and they need to be able to do uid ONAKESTEARE 8 pm Thursâ€"Sat ‘Nov 9â€"1 1 4& Nov 16â€"18 For info & 1 w« | BALTIC (Russian) BIRCH (Continued on page 20) Much of the treatment Musâ€" takas gave the production in Drayton he has also applied to KWMP‘s producâ€" tion. But because mwuuuwmfl (Just south of University Ave.) Ԥ" U/s" U/g" ‘|/2n "/g" Premium Plywood xcseclle"nt.for: g pon & rO mm };'.,' 3 PLY | s Furniture fit 5M : Pogies s â€" * rms /"â€" apuy| * Jigs ,._sflfi 3 PLY 5 PLY 7 PLY 9 PLY 11 PLY 13 PLY The Arts Awards recognize and honor individuals and groups who have made outstanding contributions to the culâ€" tural community of Kitchenerâ€"Waterioo. unteers, and others who support the * Musician: arrangers, bands, choirs, combos, composers, conductors, instru mentalists, singers, and songwriters. * Performing artist actors, dancers, directors, storytellers, choreographers, storytellers, and other performers. * Visual artist craftspeople, filmâ€"makâ€" ers, painters, sculptors, photographers, and other creators of visual art. * Writer: poets, novelists and writers of biographies, essays, nonfiction, plays, and short stories. *4 Youth: awarded to encourage and support the young artist who displays potential, commitment and talent in the creation of art. 4 Lifetime achievement: given to the 4 Lifetime achievement: given to the individual whose body of work over the years has been exceptional and has enriched the cultural life of Kitchenerâ€" Waterloo, whereas the other awards are given for exceptional work during the current calendar year. Deadline for nominations is Dec. 15 at 4:30 p.m. Nomination forms have been distributed to local libraries, theatres, community centres, stores, and the Waterioo Regional Arts Council. Nomiâ€" nation forms can also be obtained by calling the Arts Council office at 744 4 Educator: instructors, mentors, and