WEST POINT, Ala. – West Point High School Theatre on Thursday evening put on its Christmas concert, with some holiday entertainment and a little fundraising for its upcoming spring 2020 production of “The Addams Family.” Guests got a mix of favorites: secular and sacred, traditional and modern, from “Walking in a Winter Wonderland” to “O Holy Night.”
Jimmy and Kimberly Harbison, who have worked with the performing arts program for several years, have led the group to numerical growth, a successful production of “Newsies” last spring and impressive performances in 2019’s Walter Trumbauer Theatre Festivals. Now, they look forward to continuing the trend.
Jimmy Harbison told The Tribune, “The Christmas concert, this is one of our fundraisers for our musical theater department. This year, we’re doing ‘Addams Family,’ and we’re moving it down to Wallace State Community College. We’re going to be holding our performances there this year; (it’s) going to be in March. This (Christmas concert) is kind of a piggyback off our dinner-and-a-show night we had at Stone Bridge about a month-and-a-half ago. Basically, all we’re wanting to do is show off our kids’ talent. We’ve got a lot of seniors that were in ‘Newsies’ last year; they’re back this year for ‘Addams Family.’ It should be a good show in March. We’ve been practicing for about a month, now.”
He continued, “We’re trying to build something. We went from 25 students four years ago to nearly 80. There’s a lot of interest: kids, the community seems interested in it. The Good Lord put us here, and hopefully, we can keep building this program, so future kids can enjoy it like we do.”
So what was the “wow factor” of the evening?
“I think the wow factor tonight is just the singing ability that some of these kids have that people don’t know about,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of Christmas hymns’ we’re going to sing some of the classics: ‘Jingle Bells,’ stuff like that. But the goal is that we want everybody, when they leave here, to know the meaning of Christmas. I think people are going to go, ‘Wow, these kids really have a lot of talent, if you just give them the option to show it.’”
After the show, Harbison reflected, “I played ball in Cullman County; I coach, also. But I love the theater, and I really want- my goal and my wife’s goal- is for these kids to get the recognition for the talent they have. That’s what we want; that’s what it’s all about: just getting the publicity for the kids and letting them shine!”
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