‘When Juliet Met Johnny’ hits the stage

Kurrajong Performance Group enjoyed a successful premiere of their play ‘When Juliet Met Johnny’ over the weekend.

They had their opening show on Friday and a huge closing show on Sunday, with over 750 people filling the CRC Theatre at Narrandera across the two days.

Kurrajong manager Deanne Bolesta said the support from the community has been overwhelming, even in the days following the performance.

“Everyone was ecstatic with how both shows went! The crowds were huge, with additional seating required for the Saturday performance. The community response was incredible,” she said.

“The audience was cheering so loudly, and the performers absolutely loved hearing the audience clapping and dancing with them.

“People took to Facebook to congratulate the performers on the amazing event and to recognise the efforts of the production management and support staff. Community members are also stopping our performers on the street and in the supermarket to tell them what an amazing show they put on for everyone.”

The play, an original story written by the Performance Group, tells the tale of a boy from the wrong side of town who falls in love with a girl and follows the couple as they overcome obstacles.

The group set the tone of the night before guests even stepped into the theatre with three hot rod cars from the 60s parked outside and rock n’roll dancers in costume that entertained the crowd.

The atmosphere inside the theatre was even more electric, with the audience up dancing, cheering and laughing at the performers’ funny antics.

Despite the nerves and a few technical difficulties, the client performers took it all in stride and delivered five-star performances.

The performance group consisted of 25 client performers who had been preparing since January to ensure the play matched the success of their previous performances, with every single member of the group playing a role in the production.

Their opening show was so successful that members of the community, schools and business groups requested the Kurrajong Performance Group to perform at upcoming community events and activities.

Ms Bolesta emphasised that everyone involved in the production deserved to be applauded as it was no easy task to pull off.

“It is a huge effort and everyone involved should really be congratulated on such a successful performance,” she said.

“Many hours of planning and preparation go into the performances behind the scenes … the performers have around six months of rehearsals and practices, costume fittings and voice recording, and they need to learn the story of ‘When Juliet Met Johnny’ to incorporate the characters into their roles and also learn the songs and choreography.

“The confidence in each performer as they develop into their character roles is remarkable and even those who were new to the stage for ‘When Juliet Met Johnny’ absolutely loved the performance and the mateship and support the Kurrajong drama performers have for each other.”

With this year’s performance wrapped up, the performance group is considering taking up the community’s requests for them to perform at community events. 

This article appeared in the Narrandera Argus, 9 May 2024.