Newtown High Alum Will Perform in Jekyll and Hyde This Weekend

A musical theater composer at heart, Brett Boles gives up to 30 lessons a week to a steady stream of aspiring actors and performers who sign up for the Newtown-based Sabrina’s Encore Productions.

While he usually works behind the scenes and as the conductor during the performances, once or so every year he takes the stage with his students, interacting with them as colleagues.

“I teach them on an every day basis so it’s nice to work with them as a peer,” said the 25-year-old graduate of Newtown High School and Ithaca College.

This year, Boles will perform the lead role in , which is scheduled for three performances at the Ridgefield Playhouse this weekend.

“There are certain themes that run through the show that I find interesting,” said Boles, whose role will be the two-faced good Dr. Henry Jekyll and maniacal Edward Hyde. “It’s dark but I think the music is beautiful. It’s a joy to sing.”

Boles, who was once an aspiring theatrical performer before deciding to stick with composing, said participating in the show as a peer gives him a different perspective of his students, allowing him to see their talent unfold.

"It's cool to watch that happen," he said.

Outside of the show and the lessons, Boles also mentors the students on how to audition for a college theater program, which for the aspiring performers can sometimes be just as important, if not more, than the college choice itself.

“Each school has a specific set of requirements,” he said. “It can take six to seven weeks to get ready to audition.”

In some cases, talented students temporarily bypass college and audition for professional roles right away. Sabrina’s Productions has only been around for a few years, though it boasts successes, such as Hannah DeFlumeri, who graduated Newtown High School last year and is now on the national tour of Legally Blonde.

“I always tell them it’s not the degree that gets you in, it’s the audition,” Boles said.

In addition to Jekyll and Hyde, Sabrina’s Encore Productions will present West Side Story in the spring.