ASHLAND – Ashland High School choir teacher and vocal director Kim Wolbert can picture her student, Mikayla Myers, performing on Broadway someday.
Myers’ role, as Wolbert imagines it, would be Christine in “The Phantom of the Opera.”
The Ashland High School senior has dazzled audiences as Mother Abbess in “The Sound of Music,” Fiona in “Shrek” and the title role in “Mary Poppins.” But her final role at AHS may be her best yet.
“Playing Christine has been my dream since I was probably about 10 years old,” Myers said. “This role really means a lot to me.”
Ashland High School’s “The Phantom of the Opera” runs Feb. 23 to 25 and is nearly sold out, producer Rich Wasowski said. Just seven tickets remained as of Tuesday.
After Myers saw “Phantom” on Broadway, “Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again” became her favorite musical number. She even had a Phantom-themed 13th birthday party.
“My mother is an excellent planner, and she’s planning our cast party too, so she had some leftover ideas from the Phantom birthday party that she’s using,” Myers said. “She’s been planning this since the summer.”
Without a doubt, “Phantom” is a demanding show for Myers and her fellow castmates.
“Vocally, it’s really challenging because there’s so much music I have to sing, and I think acting-wise it’s really challenging for me too … It really takes a lot out of you to be able to play so many emotionally tense scenes,” Myers said.
Musical producer Rich Wasowski said this year’s cast was ready for the challenge.
“All three of our female leads are outstanding,” he said. “Almost at any other high school, all three of them could have been Christine.”
“Christine is the plumb role of course, because Christine has the Phantom’s attention and she has more singing, but Carlotta, played by Leah DeBracy, that is probably a more vocally challenging part.”
In past years, DeBracy has shined as the teen Fiona in “Shrek” and as Jane in “Mary Poppins.”
“And Isabel as Meg,” Wasowski continued, “When she and Christine sing Angel of Music together, wow, what a soaring duet. Last year, she was the bird woman in Mary Poppins, and everyone remembers that performance of ‘Feed the Birds.’”
“When you have three females of that caliber, it’s so nice,” he said.
DeBracy plays Carlotta, the prima donna of the opera company.
Wolbert said DeBracy has the ability to act any character but is doing a great job of nailing Carlotta’s diva personality. She is also doing beautifully with the challenging vocals, Wolbert said.
“It’s definitely the most difficult role I’ve ever done because I’ve had to raise my vocal range, and I’ve had to learn Italian,” DeBracy said. “I don’t even know if what I’m doing is exactly opera, but I’m teaching myself operatic tendencies.”
DeBracy said her vocal range has changed so much in taking on this role that she switched from an Alto to a Soprano I in choir.
Merkel, meanwhile, rises to the occasion in her “Angel of Music” duet with Myers in the dressing room scene.
“Isabel is kind of a ray of light for our cast,” Wolbert said. “She has so much heart and so much emotion and so much passion.”
Merkel loves nothing more than to be able to express that passion on stage.
“There’s no better feeling than just working really hard for something and then seeing it pay off,” Merkel said. “And the relationships you build with the people in the cast and crew and pit and then seeing everyone enjoy it in the audience. I just feel like it’s something that really brings people together.”
“It’s really incredible to be part of something as big as the Phantom of the Opera.”
All three female leads intend to keep singing or acting after high school. Seniors Myers and Merkel both plan to study musical theater in college, and DeBracy, a junior, is considering a career in music education.
