BROKEN DOLL
An Educational Musical
by Dennis A. Westgate.

Funded by York City Council

Director: Charlotte Gray
Producer: Jeanette Linsey
Choreographer: Claire Pulpher

5 shows took place throughout York in March 2009. Additional funding is being sought to provide another tour of this valuable musical

BACKGROUND

Broken Doll deals with the controversial issue of suicide in young people. Set in Heaven, the musical tells the story of a group of recently deceased young women looking down on a teenage girl who is contemplating suicide. The reason for the girl's demeanour is never actually given and the role of the group is to persuade the girl's spirit, on its way to Heaven, to reconsider its decision to choose life over death and return to the girl's body.

What makes Broken Doll unique, is the wide range of characters within the piece. Whilst they all have one thing in common, that is they are all female, their outlooks and life experiences are naturally all very different, so each one has an opinion on the cause behind the young girl's demeanour and a proposition as to the cure. This is presented through music and dialogue. Vocally therefore, the cast have different capabilities and timbres which provides an interesting angle to this musical. Stylistically there exists Hip Hop, R & B, Drum and Bass, Punk, Rock and other more contemporary and possibly less common genres used on stage. Yet the diversity with this musical makes it modern, interesting and vivacious and will keep the audience engrossed to the final scene

Broken Doll addresses a wide range of emotions young women may face, including anger, hate, sorrow, yet also hopelessness and love. It also focuses on the effect of men on females, as each of the girl's deaths was related either directly or indirectly, to the opposite sex. Due to its nature and content, this musical will appeal to the younger generation and would be an ideal vehicle to present as part of an educational programme, as it approaches this very difficult subject from a new angle and its unusual musical content and lively dialogue should hold the interest of the younger as well as the older viewer.

Because the storyline covers the many different traumers that may drive any young person to contemplate suicide, i.e. bullying, drugs, pregnancy, sexual abuse, it will hopefully engender some spirited group discussions afterwards, or encourage a particular individual with a problem to seek help.

Auditions

The auditons took place throughout September and October and the final cast was as follows

The Sad Girl - Fiona Baistow
The Spirit - Alice Norman
Junior Angel - Holly Crane
Angela - Clare Helen Blakely
Sue - Jeanette Linsey
Brenda - Rachel Killeen
Ann - Emma Buck
Corkie - Claire Pulpher
Lynne - Holly Batten
Wendy - Donna Parks
Angels - Rebecca Killeen
Sally Langan

Show photos

About the Author

Scriptwriter and composer, Dennis Westgate, has had many commendations for his music and achieved awards in national songwriting contests. Dennis has given sole performance rights to Director, Charlotte Gray and the York Rising Stars to undertake 'Broken Doll'. This makes it a fantastic opportunity for the local community to be involved in such an excellent and unique project by such a talented writer and composer.