CTE presents musical version of 'The Sword in the Stone'

Modern music will breathe new life into the legends of King Arthur and Camelot this weekend, when Children's Theatre of Elgin stages "The Sword in the Stone."

Shows are at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Nov. 21-22, and 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 23, at the Hemmens, 45 Symphony Way, Elgin. Tickets are $12 for adults and $10 for students and seniors.

The cast includes 98 students in grade two through nine. This "rockified" version of "The Sword in the Stone" has adapted pop and rock songs to move the story along. Performers are featuring adaptations of popular songs such as "Kids in America" (Kim Wilde), "Love Run Out" (One Republic), "Wave Your Flag" (K'naan), "We're Not Gonna Take It" (Twisted Sister), "I've Got the Music in Me" (Kiki Dee), "Call Me" (Blondie), "Edge of Glory" (Lady Gaga), and "Jai Ho" from the movie "Slumdog Millionaire."

Sarah Robertson, a CTE alum who teaches eighth-grade science at Carpentersville Middle School, is choreographing the dances.

"This is one of the greatest groups of kids I have ever had the pleasure of working with. I have watched many of them grow into phenomenal performers, and been blown away by the enthusiasm of the newcomers," Robertson said. "I am beyond proud to have my name associated with CTE and this production in general. The energy and immense performance ability of these students will undoubtedly be very entertaining."

Peter Akemann, a founder of CTE, will direct the play, which was chosen by the theater group's board of directors.

"We like to do stories that many young people are at least partially familiar with," Akemann said. "This version was written by my daughter for a production in Hawaii. It was well received and so, with a few changes, we are doing it here."

Akemann said the play was both difficult and easy to cast. "Casting was easy in the sense that we had a large number of talented people who could do the parts; the difficulty, especially with the older girls, was sorting out who could best serve the production in what role," he said.

A play with such a large cast does present its challenges, though.

"With a cast of 98, it is always difficult to get everyone into the action of the show and yet be true to the story," Akemann said. "In this production, this is done in performing 12 songs with lyrics that support the story."

But even though it's a lot of work to pull the show together, Akemann said the end result is worth it.

"The most rewarding part of the show is working with the many talented young people and watch a production move along, get focused, and finally germinate into something that they can be proud of and that an audience will want to come see."

When asked what he thought audiences would like best about the show, Akemann said, "I believe the audience will like the humor that is written in, both for children and for adults. Of course, the rock and roll songs with parodies that make sense for the show are always favorites.

Watch the show trailer or purchase tickets at cteelgin.com/.