Posted: Thursday, July 29, 2010 9:59 pm

'Miss Catie" -- director Catherine Holder -- poses with the cast of 'Bad Guys and Good Guys' after the show Thursday.

Y theatre program culminates with original musical
By SUSAN LEATHERS
Brentwood Home Page
It wasn’t Broadway, but the Brentwood original musical ‘Bad Guys and Good Guys’ got a standing ovation Thursday when the A Star is Born Production made its world premiere at the Brentwood Family YMCA Preschool.

With four original musical numbers, the 15-member cast sang, danced and acted their way through the 30-minute show. The special summer program was directed for the second year by Catherine Holder (aka Miss Catie).

“Catherine has a degree in music and drama.  She is a local girl with lots of personal talent plus an amazing ability to teach young children.  She is such a blessing to our preschool program,” said Tracey Jernigan, the preschool’s program director.

After earning her degree in musical theater, Holder toured with the Missoula Children’s Theatre -- the largest touring children's theatre in the nation.

“In the Stars program, the children get a taste of the performing arts in every aspect,” said Holder, who has worked at the preschool for three years. “We learn about the history of music, dance, and theatre from ancient tribal dances to the classics like Shakespeare, opera and ballet, to the modern musicals and pop music and dancing of today.

“The children have made Greek masks, learned their Do Re Mi's, and how to pop and lock in hip hop dancing,” Holder said.  

She explained the script-writing process for ‘Bad Guys and Good Guys” took most of the summer.

“We started by thinking of a place and characters.  Then, we thought of a plot, or what would happen. They oddly enough described in detail the plot of the Disney attraction "Captain EO" starring Michael Jackson from the 1980s.”

The music, too, was completely original. The show includes four numbers, The Planets We Will See, We’re Gonna Get You, Bad Guy Be Good, and Always be Happy.

“When writing the script, we left holes in the script so that we could put a song there.  When the script was finished, we wrote the lyrics as a class wit everyone giving ideas and rhyming words.  Then I went home and wrote the music to it,” said Holder, explaining she also is a singer/songwriter.

The preschool is located at the Church of the Good Shepherd, 1420 Wilson Pike.