Drama students at Wairarapa college are giving it the old one-two with a twinset of principal characters cast for the upcoming school production of Bugsy Malone.
Gavin McEwen, production director and Wairarapa College head of drama, is relishing the "fun" of the musical that is set in the prohibition eraafter last year staging grim drama Sweeney Todd as the major school production.
The abundance of capable drama students this year had led to the casting of two actors for each of the nine principal characters, he said, which gives the production a definitive point of difference.
"But there is not an A and B cast. We've double cast because there were so many senior students who can play the roles, it would have been criminal to miss anyone out."
He said dress rehearsals begin next week and he was supremely confident the show would come together for its opening on August 21 despite school holidays that stole away some crucial rehearsal sessions.
He said the doppelganger principals each take the stage an equal number of times during the six performance season and "there will be no understudies".
"It is massive and it is a bit like herding cats. We've really ramped it up and it's a lot of fun."
Mr McEwen expects the tale of splurge gun-toting gangsters and aspiring singers and boxers to resonate with younger audiences and is aiming the production at Wairarapa school pupils.
Tickets for the production cost $15 for adults and $6 for students and tickets and bookings are available through the school website and at the college's front office.
