WEST END PHANTOM STAR'S SURPRISE MESSAGE FOR CHESTER YOUTH THEATRE

A rising musical theatre star currently appearing in "The Phantom of the Opera" in London's West End has surprised members of a Chester-based youth theatre with a "good luck" message ahead of the opening night of their shows at a Chester High School.

Chumisa Dornford- May, a former student at Chester based On The Mark Youth Theatre (OTMYT) who is currently appearing in the West End production of "The Phantom of The Opera" at His Majesty's Theatre playing the leading role of Christine Daaé at certain performances, surprised current members of the youth theatre with a video message wishing them good luck for their upcoming shows Monty Python's SPAMALOT (school's edition) which runs from 10th - 12th July  and The SpongeBob Musical (youth version) which runs from 13th - 14th July.  Both shows are set to be staged by OTMYT at Christleton High School.

In her video message posted on the Youth Theatre's Instagram account, Chumisa praised the youth theatre for helping her to begin her journey in musical theatre saying, "If I wasn't there every Saturday at 10am... I would not be where I am now" and told the young cast members "Savour every moment, I hope you smash it, have the best time, good luck!".

Chumisa's video message can be seen here:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C8w8gE6ooxe/?igsh=eTFjdnJ0bTBzenZ0

After graduating from Christleton High School in Chester, Chumisa went on to study at the prestigious Mountview drama school in London and was awarded the coveted Elaine Paige Scholarship. She has since gone on to star in the revival of "Aspects of Love" with Michael Ball in the West End as well as a production of "Evita" at the Curve Theatre in Leicester in which she understudied and performed the leading role of Eva Perón before landing her role in the long running box-office smash "The Phantom of The Opera" in March this year. 

As a student at both Christleton High School and On The Mark Youth Theatre, Chumisa took part in several productions including playing the role of Delores Van Cartier in the school’s production of "Sister Act" as well a showstopping performance of Defying Gravity alongside Ellie Moulson in OTMYT's 2019 production "Magic of The Musicals". 

Lovingly ripped off from the cult film comedy Monty Python and the Holy Grail, and featuring music and lyrics by Eric Idle and John Du Prez, SPAMALOT will feature OTMYT's older members aged 15-19. The hit Broadway and West End show retells the legend of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table, and features a bunch of hapless knights and Las Vegas theatre stars, not to mention monks, Finnish villagers, Susan Boyle, cheerleaders and many many more! The 2005 Broadway production won three Tony® Awards, including Best Musical, and was followed by two successful West End runs. OTMYT are hoping that the outrageous, uproarious, and gloriously entertaining story of King Arthur and the Lady of the Lake will delight their audiences as the heroes search for the Holy Grail and “always look on the bright side of life.”

Following on from SPAMALOT, the youth theatre's younger Seniors group aged 9-14 will present an abridged version of The SpongeBob Musical which has recently played on tour to audiences all over the Country. When the citizens of Bikini Bottom discover that a volcano will soon erupt and destroy their humble home, SpongeBob and his friends must come together to save the fate of their undersea world! Based on the hit Nickleodeon animated series originated by Stephen Hillenberg, the musical originally opened in Chicago in 2016 before transferring to Broadway in 2017.

Speaking  about Chumisa's good luck message and the challenge of staging two very different shows, Simon Phillips, OTMYT's Co-founder and Artistic Director said:

"All of us at On The Mark are so very proud of Chumisa and all that she has achieved in her career so far including her current role in "The Phantom of The Opera". It was so lovely of her to take the time to send a good luck message to the casts and crew of Spamalot and Spongebob. Both shows are a real departure from our offerings last Summer and the casts have worked so hard to bring these challenging musical theatre pieces to life in such a short time. Work is well underway on over 200 costumes, line-learning, songs and, of course, the big movement numbers that make musical theatre so very entertaining. We are so lucky to have a great following in Chester and we hope to see all our regulars and some new faces in the audience. This is a great chance to see two incredible shows right here in Chester and we know that we will send our audiences out with a huge smile on their faces."

In addition to staging two productions back to back, OTMYT’s artistic team are also getting ready for their annual Summer Workshop week which will be held in Chester from Monday 12th - Friday 16th August.  Open to anyone aged 5-19 and Led by experienced musical theatre performers, the workshop offers budding performers the opportunity to spend a week during the school holidays working on singing, acting and dance, culminating in a specially staged performance for family and friends at the end of the week. 

Full details of SPAMALOT, The SpongeBob Musical and On the Mark's Summer Workshop can be found at: 

www.otmyt.co.uk 

...where tickets can be booked online.