FINAL rehearsals are underway as members of a Chester based Youth Theatre prepare to bring the sights and sounds of the best of the West End and Broadway to the stage.

Students from On The Mark Youth Theatre based at Christleton High School will present the show "Magic of The Musicals" at the school from Tuesday, July 16 - Friday, July 19, at 7pm.

The show, musically directed by On The Mark's artistic director Simon Phillips and choreographed by Laura Roberts, will feature performances of hits from some of the West End and Broadway's biggest and best loved Musicals including "Hairspray", "Wicked", "Avenue Q", "Les Miserables", "Cats", "Spamalot" plus the box office smash hit "Hamilton", all performed by the talented young cast who are aged 10 - 19 years old.

The show is being staged following the enormous success of the Youth Theatre's previous production "The Addams Family" at Christleton High School earlier this year.

Mr Phillips said: “It’s wonderful, after putting on two full length musicals, to have the chance to put on a compilation of so many of the best songs from the West End and Broadway, giving a lot more of our young cast members their own moments to shine. Putting on a compilation production does bring its own challenges and the cast and artistic team have worked really hard to put together a varied programme which we hope will have something for everyone. We’re including lots of ensemble numbers with complex harmony singing and the young performers we have in our group have relished this and they make a really wonderful sound. The addition of a live 14 piece band is sure to give the performances a very special feel; the musicians will be on view to the audience and we are all especially looking forward to the band rehearsal a week before we open.”

He added "Putting these youth productions together is really very rewarding and watching our performers, all aged 10-19 working on choreography, harmonies, characters and aiming for such high professional standards is a joy. This show has been put together in just a single school term and is credit to everyone involved. Following this, of course, our members are already getting excited about "Cats" (Andrew Lloyd Webber), our next production for March 2020”

Full details of On The Mark Youth Theatre and "Magic of The Musicals" can be found at www.otmyt.co.uk where tickets can be booked online.