PHOTO | MATTHEW MURPHY

David Wayne Britton stars as Sgt. Emil Foley in the stage production of “An Officer and a Gentleman” Dec. 7-12 at Ovens Auditorium.

The Oscar-winning film “An Officer and a Gentleman” has been adapted into a musical and will premier Dec. 7-12 at Ovens Auditorium. Tickets are available at Blumenthal Performing Arts’ website.

The play is based on the original 1982 screenplay by Douglas Day Stewart. It follows the story of Zack Mayo, a young man attempting to graduate from the Navy’s Officer Training School. Every day, he must endure relentless hazing and commands from the drill sergeant. His strength and knowledge are put to the test on his journey to find success and secure a future in the military. Along the way, he meets many characters that will change his perspective, and even a young local woman who will change his heart.

“A great movie can imbed itself into the cultural memory of a generation. Our goal was to build on that memory, finding new ways into the story through the lens of musical theater,” said producer Stephen Gabriel of Work Light Productions.

The Ovens Auditorium performance will not only continue to carry out the movie’s legacy but appeal to a more diverse audience with Black actors Amaya White, Cameron Loyal, and David Wayne Britton in the cast.

The musical highlights important themes, such as women’s empowerment and life for African Americans in the military. “It adds a whole new dimension that I am black,” said White, who plays Casey Seeger. “As a woman, it's already difficult being in the military and facing those gender norms, but now you are also dealing with race. My character is fighting to be a Black woman in a predominantly white space by showing that she's strong, confident, and can do all the same things that any of the men can do, such as climbing a wall, working out, and doing pull-ups.”

Three Black leads in a traditionally white cast allows audiences to view a different side of the human experience. The audience will get the chance to experience the film all over again, but from new perspectives, opening up a new side of history. It’s a platform for minorities to speak of their past, but also challenge racial norms even further with Black leads in a story that most people already know and love.

“The difficulties that characters like Mayo or Seeger endure are representative of challenges that everybody goes through and speaks to all our lives,” said Loyal, who plays Sid Worley Jr. “I think the audience should take away the message that is it’s not about who you are, what color you are, where you’re from, or your background. It’s about the commonalities between us and why are we are all here.”

The messages translated through the actors are common to all people. Now that more backgrounds are represented amongst the cast, audiences will get the chance to see the similarities for themselves.  

“Like all great stories, its themes are universal: love, valor and the ways in which our reasons for pursuing a dream determine whether or not we’ll achieve it,” said author and director Dick Scanlan.

The adaptation of a timeless story will present the themes and characters with a new and modern twist. The show features a score based on music from the 1980s, including hits from Rick Springfield, Styx and Debbie Gibson. The Grammy-winning No. 1 single “Up Where We Belong” is a crowd and cast favorite.

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