Ballycastle woman takes to stage in BDG ‘Superstar’ show

And a Ballycastle woman will be playing a large part in the production.

Kellyann McKillen has been involved in drama for 20 years from small school plays to large full scale musicals but this is her first appearance with Ballywillan.

She is an enthusiatic character actress who loves immersing herself in a role. She has played principal roles in ‘Annie’, ‘The King and I’ and ‘Me and My Girl’

She has also performed monologues and duologues such as ‘Smell the Burnt Feather’ and ‘Spoonface Steinberg’.

When she was in New Zealand, Kellyann was cast as a nanny in the country’s soap opera ‘Shortland Street’.

She was also cast in several commercials and did extra parts.

Kellyann is currently involved in local community theatre, supporting young directors.

This will be the first production in Northern Ireland since the highly successful Superstar Arena Tour visited the Belfast Odyssey in October last 2012.

Superstar was last staged by Ballywillan 10 years ago, but this is a completely new realisation of the show.

Totally revamped and updated, this stage show really will be a must-see event.

Ballywillan have been planning Superstar since last February when all contracts were signed and exchanged.

Director, Brian Logan, and Musical Director, Eric Boyd, have been busy designing the new show, updating the orchestrations and working with Lloyd Webber’s production company, The Really Useful Group, to ensure the Northern Ireland production meets their exacting standards.

Leading a cast of more than 80 people will be Richard Campbell in the title role.

Richard is well-known to local audiences, and has appeared for both Ballywillan and Portrush Music Society.

In 2012, Richard won the Best Musical Director award at the Association of Irish Musical Societies/HB Awards in Killarney.

Adam Goudy takes on the role of Judas – played by Tim Minchin in the arena tour. Adam has established himself as a stalwart of the Ballywillan cast, taking part not just in the musicals, but also in some of their summer theatre productions.

At some performances, however, Judas will be played by Alan McClarty, who is also the assistant director and played the same part when Ballywillan last presented it 10 years ago – the only person reprising their role this year!

Louise McClarty plays Mary Magdalene.

Louise has been performing in musicals and other productions since the age of 10, and last appeared for Ballywillan as Sister Berthe in the Sound of Music in 2012.

Director, Brian Logan, is also Ballywillan’s set and lighting designer. His set for Superstar is an awe-inspiring Roman amphitheatre of multi-levelled tiers and archways.

The set is so big that the Riverside’s stage space has been taken right back to the building’s walls to accommodate it!

Ballywillan’s sets are always outstanding, and this is no exception.

Sharon Logan, who is responsible for musical staging and choreography for Ballywillan, in conjunction with Ewan Campbell from Utopia Costumes in Scotland have designed a completely new set of costumes for this production.

The arena tour which toured the UK, Ireland and Australia and which starred Tim Minchin, Melanie C and Chris Moyles, was seen by hundreds of thousands of people and also introduced the musical to a new legion of fans.

The musical retells the events of the final seven days in the life of Jesus of Nazareth. The subject matter is always treated with reverence and a great deal of respect.

To see Jesus’ final journey on earth is a wonderful spectacle to behold.

Superstar is a highly-charged piece of musical theatre which always attracts enthusiastic and emotional audiences.

Jesus Chris Superstar is now booking at the Riverside Theatre on 028 70 123 123 or book on-line at www.riversidetheatre.org.uk

The musical runs from Thursday, January 16 to Saturday, February 1 with evening and matinee performances. There is also an attractive range of ticket offers and concessions.

To learn more about the show, cast and crew and also have a chance to win some tickets check out Ballywillan Drama Group on Facebook.com/Ballywillan; on Twitter @Ballywillan or visit www.ballywillan.com