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Photo Credit Chuck Sheets/Mosaic/For The Telegraph
Roxana High musical benefits RHS senior fighting cancer, director’s son in coma
ENTERTAINMENT, FEATURES, LIFESTYLE, NEWS, TOP STORIES
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By Jill Moon - jmoon@thetelegraph
Jesus’ disciples are played by a company that includes Reese Beckman, Brandon Groves, Joshua Harris, Cassidy Harvey, Jessica Levan, Sydney Martin, Amanda Orr, Sydnie Palmer, Robert Phillips and Dickson Wong. The rest of the cast plays the parts of the characters in each of the parables that are taught throughout the production.
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Junior Meg Bosse portrays the character of Jesus; senior Derek Ogle plays Judas; and, senior Timothy Smith plays John the Baptist. For “Godspell Jr.,” students were able to put a modern spin on the timeless teachings of Jesus that are found in the book of Matthew.
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“The actors wanted to do their part to help Allen and request prayer for Spencer,” said choir teacher Judy McGill, who took over the “Godspell Jr.” production for its director Debbie Bacus, who found her 24-year-old son, Spencer Bacus, unresponsive in the family’s driveway Nov. 9. He is in a non-medical induced coma at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis.
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Roxana High School’s upcoming musical will benefit one of the school’s seniors, Allen Wright, who is fighting stage 4 colon cancer. The production’s profits will go toward Wright for medical and related expenses. In the meantime, RHS’ “Godspell Jr.” director’s son, Spencer Bacus, 24, collapsed face down in his family home’s driveway last Thursday, Nov. 9. RHS drama students ask for payers for Bacus.
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ROXANA — A benefit for one young man in need has added a prayer request for another, who is in a coma, to continue at Roxana High School’s production of “Godspell Jr.” this weekend.
Roxana High School’s upcoming musical will benefit one of the school’s seniors, Allen Wright, who is fighting stage 4 colon cancer. The production’s profits will go toward Wright for medical and related expenses. In the meantime, RHS’ “Godspell Jr.” director’s son, Spencer Bacus, 24, collapsed face down in his family home’s driveway last Thursday, Nov. 9. RHS drama students ask for prayers for Bacus.
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“Godspell Jr’s” director, Debbie Bacus, who also is Roxana Junior High’s musical director, RHS’ fall play director and the elementary library secretary, found her son unconscious outside their home. Now a huge prayer request is circulating on social media with the hash tag wakeupspencer, to continue at least through this weekend during RHS’ performances of “Godspell.” Alton Middle School performed “Godspell” within the last few weeks for its fall musical and St. Mary’s Middle School students will perform in its “Godspell” production at 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the St. Mary’s Parish Center (former St. Matthew’s Church) 1015 Milton Road, Alton.
Roxana High School’s “Godspell Jr.” performances are at 7 p.m. Friday and at 2 and 7 p.m. Saturday, at the newly-refurbished Birdine M. Groshong auditorium on the RHS campus. Tickets are available at the door and cost $6 for adults and $4 for students.
Typically, co-directors Bacus and her husband, Mark, do a straight play for the fall production. But, the students wanted the proceeds to go toward their fellow classmate’s medical expenses. Thus, Debbie Bacus chose a show that wouldn’t require a lot of production expense. The MTI Broadway Jr. collection includes complete shows for a reasonable price.
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The “Godspell Jr.” set is simple and costumes can be pulled together from the students’ own closets, Bacus explained.
“This was not the time for a period piece or an elaborate set, like we have done in the past,” Bacus said. ‘“Godspell Junior’ is the high school fall play that I chose as an economical choice for a fundraiser. It just happens to be a musical.”
Roxana High School’s choir teacher, Judy McGill, along with sixth-grade teacher Brittany Sasser, took over “Godspell,” but with little fanfare, McGilll told The Telegraph Monday.
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McGill visited the Bacuses immediately at Alton Memorial Hospital before Spencer was airlifted to Barnes-Jewish Hospital’s emergency department. Debbie was the first person she spoke to.
“We looked at each other. I said, ‘I’m taking the musical,’” recalled McGill, who is regularly Roxana High School’s musical director. “She looked at me and cried and said, ‘Thank you.’ I told her, ‘Give me your stuff, you take care of your son. Brittany and I have this.’ It was an easy thing to do because they already did all the hard work.”
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Spencer was born with a rare condition called giant congenital nevus, in which basically most of his skin (the body’s largest organ) is compromised by abnormal pigmentation, which also causes other complications, from which Spencer fell into a coma.
Two years ago, Spencer began having seizures and a watch was initiated on a brain lesion he had.
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Debbie Bacus came home from a “Godspell” rehearsal last week to find Spencer on the ground unresponsive. He remains in a non-medical induced coma in Barnes-Jewish Hospital’s neurological intensive care unit.
“The concern prayer is for Spencer to wake up,” said McGill, who also is Roxana school district’s division coordinator for humanities.
McGill had Spencer as a student and has known his dad, Mark, since they were in junior high school.
“The actors wanted to do their part to help Allen and request prayer for Spencer,” McGill said.
The cast and crew is made up of more than 40 high school students, who sing and dance their way through this production.
“Even though there is much humor and fun in the show, I expect audiences to be moved to tears, as I have been, by the thoughtful performances of these students,” Bacus said.
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Besides the effort to make the show a fundraiser and the unexpected turn of Bacus’ son’s health, the show came with other challenges. The Birdine M. Groshong auditorium, which houses the stage, went through a complete renovation, including new tile, carpet and theater seating. The cast had to find rehearsal space where ever they could for the first five to six weeks.
“Getting into the space so late has been difficult, but the auditorium is beautiful and comfortable,” Bacus said. “Theater-goers will be pleasantly surprised.”
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Junior Meg Bosse portrays the character of Jesus; senior Derek Ogle plays Judas; and, senior Timothy Smith plays John the Baptist. The other disciples are played by a company that includes Reese Beckman, Brandon Groves, Joshua Harris, Cassidy Harvey, Jessica Levan, Sydney Martin, Amanda Orr, Sydnie Palmer, Robert Phillips and Dickson Wong. The rest of the cast plays the parts of the characters in each of the parables that are taught throughout the production.
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The original Godspell was written by Stephen Schwartz and allows for quite a bit of freedom on how to stage the production.
“The students had a lot of creative freedom in putting this show together,” Bacus explained. “They have been able to put a modern spin on the timeless teachings of Jesus that are found in the book of Matthew. There is talk of Twitter and the use of cell phones. They have been very thoughtful in showing that the lessons in the show are very important in the world we live in.”
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Reach Jill Moon at 618-208-6448 and Twitter @jill_moon.
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