Rising Stars bring Broadway to Royal SummerFest

ROYAL CITY - Lions Park will be alive with the "Sound of Music" and other Broadway musicals at 2 p.m. this Saturday, July 12, at Royal City's SummerFest.

Rising Stars, a serious new organization, will put on the show. Royal Slope residents, between the ages of 8-18, will put up stage sets and act and sing scenes from four shows, including "Annie", "Peter Pan" and "Music Man".

Rising Stars is no stab-in-the-dark effort. If you're a fan of musicals, you won't want to miss It. The singing will be accompanied by orchestra tracks.

"I have been so impressed with these kids, and I hope people will come out to see what they have been working on," Rising Stars director Allison Gilbert said.

Gilbert, a fairly new arrival on the Royal Slope, is a good judge and developer of singing talent. She was trained in classical opera at Brigham Young University.

Gilbert gives private voice lessons, and Rising Stars is an extension of that work. It gives more youngsters a chance to get involved and her students opportunities to perform.

"We're getting more girls than boys, but we are getting some boys," Gilbert said.

Gilbert was born in Newport Beach, California to a family that didn't consider itself musical. Her mother would say, "The only thing I know how to play is the radio."

And she did. Around the house. All the time.

Gilbert listened to all kinds of music at a young age. She spent hours putting on her own "performances" atop the ping pong table or behind the living room curtains.

Gilbert moved to Utah for second grade. There she came under the tutelage of Don Harvie, who directed the Northridge Elementary School Choir of 5th-6th graders. She thought of him as her mentor.

"He taught us songs with such enthusiasm and skill that I couldn't help but develop a lifelong love for music," Gilbert said. "We were given unique opportunities, such as singing at the Utah State Senate, singing "Sanctus" in the Cathedral of the Madeliene in Salt Lake and singing a four part harmony song written by our very own showstopping accompanist, Al Huish.

In the community where Gilbert lived, she had the opportunity to perform in several musical productions, including "Oliver", "Annie", "Bye Bye Birdie", "South Pacific", "Hello Dolly", "Peter Pan", "The Wizard of Oz" and "The Pirates of Penzance".

Even though opera wasn't really Gilbert's thing, her parents had her train to be a Coltura Tura with Ewan Harbrecht Mitton for four years while she studied at BYU.

"I now have an appreciation for opera, and I'm grateful for that training I received, even though opera's still not really my thing," she said.

Marriage to Travis Gilbert on Dec. 20, 2002 brought Gilbert and her family to the Slope in July of 2012 to farm with Travis's family.

"I was encouraged by my long-time friend, Marnie Bergeson, to start a children's choir," Gilbert said. "I told her of the blessing and joy that music has been in my life and the desire I had to share that love with others."

In January of 2013 Gilbert started Rising Stars with a goal of instilling a love of music in young people and to provide opportunities for them to perform and gain experience on stage. Rising Stars had its first performance in April.

"I knew I had found a tradition I wanted to continue," Gilbert said..

In the fall, Rising Stars prepared a Christmas Showcase, which was performed at a care center in Othello. There were two performances in Royal.

"Every time I am given an opportunity to work with a group of kids, I am learning new things and finding ways to make it the best experience possible for the kids," Gilbert said.

This spring, Gilbert collaborated with friends Heather Jenks and Wanda Dorsing to put together the show for Royal Summerfest. Royal youths, ages 8-18, will be performing eight songs and scenes from the aforementioned Broadway musicals.

"Having the older kids in the mix and adding acting really makes for an entertaining show," Gilbert said.

Carson Gilbert, Kai Jenks, Samantha Noftle, Corbin Christensen, Seila Jenks and Trenton Dorsing are just a few of the experienced performers who will be taking the stage.

Allison Gilbert will be making a surprise appearance in one of the songs.

"I think it will be a lot of fun," she said.