Ridgeline High School Theater is currently working tirelessly on their upcoming musical “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers” which opens on February 9th. 

The musical is set in the 1850s. The show begins with a woman, named Milly, marrying a man named Adam, who has six brothers. She proceeds to teach them manners and how to court women. This leads to the six brothers kidnapping six girls from town to be their wives.

Zeeli Holmes, a Senior at Ridgeline, plays the part of a townsperson in the ensemble. She describes the play as “Stockholm Syndrome times 7”. In the mid-year musicals, it’s very typical for Seniors in high school to participate. Zeeli described wanting to do the musical because she thought it would be fun and she “wanted to do it at least once before graduation.”

In the past, Seniors have followed this trend of participating with their friends as a “last hurrah” before graduating. Last year, in the RHS production of Meet me in St. Louis, Senior Sheri Talakai enjoyed taking her turn on the stage for the first and last time during her high school career.  Hannah Swensen, Zeeli Holmes, and others are all doing that exact thing this year.

The school musical takes a lot of work and time to put on. Students spend up to 15 hours a week rehearsing and practicing their parts. Zeeli noted that most of the students who play leads in the play aren’t able to hold part-time jobs because of how much time they have to dedicate to theater. “We’ve been practicing almost everyday, learning music and dances,” she says. They practice their positions on stage, fight scenes, and how to work with their partner in the play (many of the actors are paired up because the play has 7 couples). 

Madi Busch, a student who has seen many of the past plays put on by RHS Theater, says, “The actors did a good job; putting on a play takes a lot of work.” She says there are times during the shows in which the costumes, music, or dances aren’t perfect, but their hard work and love for acting shines through. 

Students will want to make sure to put this performance of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers on their calendars, because they won’t want to miss it! Support for the arts and Ridgeline Theater comes from people in the community who want to help their students, friends, and peers succeed. The cast and crew would be delighted to have a full house every night they perform from February 9th-13th, and hope to see everyone there!