Community All-Stars: Pocatello’s new theater nonprofit

POCATELLO, Idaho (KIFI) – A new theater nonprofit in Pocatello hopes to change lives one show at a time. Pocatello Theatricals is the brainchild of Catherine Barker. She grew up doing musical productions and knows what a lifeline they can be.

Pocatello Theatricals Founder Catherine Barker said, "I've never found a means through which to form a strong, tight-knit community better and more effectively than theater, bringing a bunch of strangers together and giving them a difficult dance or a scary piece of music, and having them overcome those fears together as a group and then create something and then share it with the community is a way to create instant bonds and connections you and those bonds and connections can save lives".

Part of the reason Catherine is so passionate about this project is that theater kept her from taking her own life. 

Barker said “I reached a very low point at one point in my life, and I wasn't sure if I wanted to stick around anymore. And the next day, I woke up and I went to rehearsal, and immediately just was welcomed in by these people who didn't know I was struggling. I hit it very well. But they said, Catherine, oh, it's so good to see you. And they gave me hugs. And then that night, I left rehearsal, and I went, Okay, this is this is good. I have a community. I have people who noticed that I'm here and who would have noticed if I wasn't here.”

 However, theater isn't always accessible to everyone, and that is where Catherine wanted to make a difference. 

“I felt that we needed more opportunities for people, especially of different ability levels or experience levels or skill levels, to be able to come and to perform,” said Barker.

Music Director Bradley Gray says this new company fills a vital need in the community.

"People of all walks of life have come to me and said, how marvelous it is that they have this opportunity because they never have before, because they did when they were younger, but never really thought themselves capable of going out for another show that they haven't done it since high school or college or something like that. And they're stellar performers, really, really excellent musicians, really amazing actors that just haven't felt that an opportunity has arisen that we've given this opportunity to I think it's really beautiful,” said Gray

Their first production is a Broadway musical review titled "A Million Dreams." It will be an amazing collection of big songs from Broadway musicals.

"We've taken all of the best musical numbers from each of those shows, and we have these amazing choreographed numbers and these beautiful songs, and it's just going to be this big, huge over the top night of musical theater.”

The cast has been together for about a month now, and directors say if you go to the show, you're in for a treat.

The show A Million Dreams runs this Friday and Saturday, November 8th and 9th.

Showtime is 7:00 PM at Century High School. Tickets are $25.

For more information visit: https://www.pocatellotheatricals.com/