Booley
2006 · Triopia High School auditorium
Booley was an original Ken Bradbury musical — one he both wrote and directed — staged at Triopia High School in 2006. It centered on a title character, Booley, and a named heroine, Aegina, and ran four nights, April 26–29 (box office 457-2281). In a distinctive touch, Ken recruited grade-school children from the elementary school to perform alongside the high-schoolers, asking the elementary teachers to pick out talented, nervy young girls. The show was full of music and dance, including an Irish dance. A later Triopia/LLCC program remembers it as "the last play KB directed at Triopia." The recording opens on the show's own title card — "Triopia Presents Booley" in hand-drawn block letters built from logs and boards — over the darkened house of the school auditorium.
Songs
- Willis is Dead — a musical number from Booley; Ken's journal later notes "a loose rendition of 'Willis is Dead'" performed by a later cast.
- Irish Dance — a dance number from the show; Ken's journal later references "a short exhibition of the Irish Dance from Booley."
A 12-track Booley vocals album (dated May 2006) and a 21-track Booley Act II audio album (ripped December 2006) survive in the archive, confirming the show's full musical score.
Cast
- Aegina — Carrie Greening (a freshman whose audition voice "blew us away," coming away with a major role)
- Booley's mother — Catherine Smith (a top role in her freshman year)
- The villain — Erich Nobis (long remembered for his portrayal of the villain)
- Cody Nordsiek (learned to play the harmonica just for the show)
- Brittany DeOrnellas (a dancer who returned to "dazzle" in Booley)
- Andrew Austin
- Kayla Gaines
- Joe Heidershidt
- Amanda Langley (joined the high-school theatre department with Booley)
- J.D. Schone
- Dylan Schnake
- Joe Strattman (first appeared on the Triopia stage in Booley)
- Hannah Stephens
- Jacob Whited (a member of the "high-kicking Booley cast")
- Elly Crawford (a first-grader, one of "the little ones" brought in from the elementary school)
- Mackenzie Musch (a second-grader chosen to appear in the production)
Production Notes
- Crew: Kyle Cummings served as master of special effects; Brennan Vahle was a spotlighter and ran the light cues.
- Sound-cue sessions for Act I and Act II were prepared on February 19, 2006, during the run-up to the show.
- A two-act recording survives (Act I ~56 min, Act II ~45 min) and is preserved above.