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Spotswood College - Te Kura tuarua o Ngāmotu has just wrapped up a stage production of Bugsy Malone based on the classic 1976 film starring Scott Baio and Jodie Foster.
In the Taranaki school's comedy production, an all-kid cast sang and danced- substituting machine guns and bullets for toy weapons and whipped cream.
The original film is based on real-life Chicago gangsters such as Al Capone and Bugs Moran, and on other gangster films like The Godfather, and is set in New York during the prohibition era.
Te Kura tuarua o Ngāmotu's spectacular show had a cast of 60 intermediate and high-school students directed by teacher Marie Honeyball.
Honeyball has been teaching at Te Kura tuarua o Ngāmotu for five years and said her passion for production and teaching came together to motivate her to recreate Bugsy Malone with her students.
She said this is the first production she has done with Te Kura tuarua o Ngāmotu and it was the first for the school since 2008.
Chai Ruakere-Forbes (Te Atiawa and Tainui), played three important roles in the production and said it has been an incredible journey with incredible people.
"I don't consider myself an actor but I enjoy making and producing short film videos, so this has been a great experience as I prepare for university next year."
He said his teacher supported everyone and was one of the key reasons why the production was so successful.
"She drives past our house to get to school and always picks me up for rehearsals, with breakfast from Four Square - we wouldn't have got this far without her," Ruakere-Forbes said.
Year 12 student Khalani Taki-Murray, who is from Taranaki and Te Arawa, said Covid-19 made things difficult and resulted in the postponement of the Bugsy Malone production three times.
"Our first year of rehearsals was in 2020, then in 2021, and now we finally had the opportunity to complete the long-term plan."
Taki-Murray played Tallulah, the role which put Jodie Foster on the road to stardom.
Taki-Murray, a self-assured young woman, performed the character with deadpan honesty and droll appeal. She is also a strong vocalist.
Khalani Taki-Murray as Tallulah in Bugsy Malone. Photo / Supplied
She said she didn't want to be a main character in the production but fell in love with Tallulah while watching the film with her classmates.
"I didn't want to be in the production, I put my hand up for being in the ensemble, but I became interested and fell in love with Tallulah's character and have enjoyed every part of the rehearsals and performance so far."
Taki-Murray said it's usually difficult for her to perform in front of her whānau but credited her success in this show to her co-cast and Honeyball.
"My whānau have been so supportive, especially my teacher Miss Honey - she makes us all feel so at ease working together and teaches us how to have fun."
Honeyball said it takes years to build a culture of doing a production with any school but her students made it easy for her.
"These guys have got it in the bag now and they've been absolutely stunning, the feedback from whānau in this kura has motivated the team to carry on with events just like this."
