Mustang Theatre starts with ‘What the Dickens’
By Ashley Shah
The Marshall Middle School (MMS) theatre program is holding its first production of the year on Nov. 19 and 20.
The student actors are performing “What the Dickens,” a parody of “A Christmas Carol” written by Charles Dickens.
“The production was very special to perform because it is actually written by one of our own – English teacher Andrea Wright. I believe the show had only been performed one other time before this,” theatre teacher Scott Sussman said.
There were two casts for this production.
“We separate the students into the two casts so that the students have more opportunities. On Nov. 19, the silver group performed. On Nov. 20, the blue will perform. There is no difference between the groups,” Sussman said.
The lead role of Ebenezer Scrooge was played by Yousif Findakly (silver group), and Owen Daley (blue group). Principal Doolittle, another lead role, was played by Olivia De Carvalho (silver group), and Javier Corcino (blue group).
“The production is similar to the original production, except for the fact that the lead is a middle schooler who gets visited by the three ghosts. These three ghosts, and the journey he goes on with them, reshapes his world view. The middle schooler learns that we should give, and care about each other. We all need to build each other up and work together,” Sussman said. “There is a little twist that is in this show, so I am really interested to see how the audience reacts to that.”
The next show for the program will be in January 2026.
“Our musical theatre class will be performing the ‘Little Mermaid,”’ Sussman said.
Following that performance, “Mad House” will take place in March 2026.
The final performance of the year will be the musical “Mean Girls” in May 2026.
The theatre program in total has more than 100 students.
“We have around 36 students in our theatre program, 35 students in our musical theatre and 36 students in our technical theatre. Most of the students are seventh and eighth graders because they do get priority, but we have a few sixth graders. These classes are very sought after,” Sussman said.
Practicing for performances primarily takes place in the classroom.
“We work on many different things in the classroom. Last week, we were working on stage presence. We worked on projecting voice and energy. We’ve worked on many other things like script analysis, character development, confidence and more,” Sussman said. “I like to meet them where they are at – and then take a step forward.”
Sussman is excited for another great year of Mustang Theatre.
“My goal every year is just to hook the students on this particular art form. I want them to find this fun, take risks and feel like theatre is their thing,” he said.
For ticket information, visit: tix.com/ticket-sales/marshallmiddle/6738.