Mustang Sally - Korah Collegiate’s own student pop/rock group - is rehearsing for its upcoming Livin' the Dream - A Magical Journey Through the Eyes of a Child tour.
“Livin’ the Dream is all about a young girl and her dreams,” said Greg Ryckman, Korah Collegiate music teacher and Mustang Sally's music director.
“It's about the typical dream scenarios of nightmares, falling in love, broken hearts, all of these things that we dream about. There’s a whole range of emotions. Sad and happy. There's laughing, there's crying. You name it, it's all here.
"Some of the dreams make sense, some of them don't and we're going to bring them to life through music,” Ryckman told SooToday.
Since there are so many songs that deal with dreams, Ryckman said it was both easy and difficult to build a set list for the 90-minute Livin' the Dream concert.
“The list was miles long so it made it quite easy for us to do, but then it gets difficult because now you have to ask ‘which tunes do we choose?’ because they're all so good.”
The concert opens with Enter Sandman by Metallica and includes Dreams by Fleetwood Mac and Dream On by Aerosmith.
“We’re not doing all dream-titled songs but they and all the other songs will tell the story throughout the concert,” Ryckman said.
The music will revolve around a central character.
“There’s no narration. There's a girl lying asleep and dreaming on a big canopy bed. We're kind of borrowing from Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night's Dream. There's a giant eye that the audience looks through when they see this person's dream.”
The Grim Reaper character will appear in the concert.
“He's the one that gives her nightmares but she overcomes that. The great part about it is that she perseveres in her life. She's studying to be a doctor and she's achieving dreams and goals at the same time. So it's quite an uplifting story,” Ryckman said.
“There are some really cool lighting effects that we're going to be using. Some of the props are movable. The Grim Reaper makes our character levitate in one scene and it's awesome.”
Ryckman launched Mustang Sally in 2003.
The group’s lineup changes partially each year as Korah’s students graduate from high school.
Mustang Sally will present Livin' the Dream - A Magical Journey Through the Eyes of a Child April 30 - May 2 at the Korah Collegiate auditorium.
Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the show starts at 7 p.m.
Rising Stars, consisting of Mustang Sally’s younger contingent of Korah Collegiate Grade 7 to 10 students, will open with a 30-minute set.
The Mustang Sally Main Stage, composed of Korah Collegiate Grade 11 and 12 students, will take to the stage and perform Livin' the Dream at approximately 7:45 and continue to approximately 9 p.m.
The Korah shows will include approximately 30 musicians and vocalists, Ryckman said.
Tickets are $10 and available through Korah Collegiate as well as the Sault Community Theatre Centre Box Office website.
Admission is free for children 12 and under.
The band’s Livin' the Dream - A Magical Journey Through the Eyes of a Child tour will include stops in Blind River, Elliot Lake, Chapleau and Wawa.
Tour dates are still being finalized and can be found through Mustang Sally’s Facebook page.