"Les Miserables," "Sweeney Todd" on MTC Stage?

Moorestown Theater Company (MTC) is getting ready to stage a show this weekend unlike any its ever done before.

As one of the top community theater groups in the area, MTC has put on a wealth of shows: catch Disney stories, classic Broadway musicals and plenty more. But there are limitations.

Epics like Les Miserables or elaborate sets like those in Sweeney Todd, for example, are extremely challenging for community theater groups to put on—particularly when they don't have their own building, admitted MTC founder Mark Morgan.

"It's certainly not a lack of talent prohibiting us (from putting on these shows)," he added.

Five-year MTC veteran Tom McHale sought a way around those limitations, and approached Morgan with the idea of staging a hodgepodge of scenes from a variety of shows, particularly those which MTC had never performed. McHale was inspired by a similar concept staged at St. Joseph's Prep.

"It was such a positive experience," he said of the St. Joe's show. "I really thought it was perfect for Moorestown Theater Company ... The appeal is the tremendous energy and variety. We're taking the audience on a theatrical journey."

MTC will stage "Scenes & Songs" this weekend, featuring 15 scenes from plays including the aforementioned Les Miserables and Sweeney Todd, as well as A Few Good Men, Fiddler on the Roof, Spring Awakening, Steel Magnolias, Shawshank Redemption and more.

"Every single scene we're doing is a show (MTC) has never done," said McHale, though that wasn't by design.

Morgan said the unique production has attracted a good deal of new talent—he estimated that one-third to half of the 40-member cast were new to MTC—and hopes it will have the same effect on the audience.

"For $10, the entertainment value will be off the charts," said Morgan. "For people looking to do something this weekend, I can't imagine a better return on your dollar."

MTC's "Scenes and Songs" premieres at 7 p.m. Friday, with additional shows at 2 and 7 p.m. Saturday at the First Presbyterian Church (101 Bridgeboro Road). You can purchase tickets by emailing info@MoorestownTheaterCompany.org
or call 856-778-8357.