Performances offer more than a spot in the limelight

Deepa Bharath

COSTA MESA -- For Abraham Rodriguez, being part of a Broadway-style

production is not all about swinging tunes and jazzy moves.

For the 15-year-old from Costa Mesa, it’s about learning. Learning to

be reliable and responsible. Learning to be true to himself.

“Doesn’t matter if you’re tall or if you’re short,” Rodriguez said

with a broad smile. “Just be yourself.”

He is one of 38 troubled teenagers participating in a two-week Summer

at the Center program that culminated Friday with their own show that is

a collage of scenes and numbers from Broadway musicals.

Their show premiered Friday night at the Orange County Performing Arts

Center’s Founders Hall.

This is the program’s 10th anniversary, said director Bob Brawley, and

is held by the Center annually. A new element that the Center has added

this year is the inclusion of nine teenagers from the Los Rios juvenile

detention center.

Brawley said their participation is one of the best things to happen

to the program since its inception.

“These boys are here from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.,” he said. “Then they have

to go back to the [detention] center and do landscaping and physical work

until 10 at night. We were told that they have asked for permission to

practice their numbers after 10 in the laundry room. Isn’t that amazing?”

The boys also taught their friends at the detention center the

Broadway numbers, Brawley said.

“It’s unbelievable,” he said. “This boy in the group who is 17 and has

a 2-year-old daughter said ‘Peter Pan is really cool.”’

Bill, a participant from the detention center, said he is thankful for

the opportunity. His supervisor requested his last name be withheld to

protect his privacy.

The music, he said, “really gets him.” So do the people.

“The whole vibe here is very good,” he said. “They don’t judge you.

They’re open and friendly, no matter who you are and where you come

from.”

The key is to believe in the kids, vocal coach Cynthia McGarity said.

“In this environment, their fears are taken away and we totally

believe in them,” she said. “They’ve never had that before.”

And, apparently, that is what it takes to change lives, to take these

kids who might have taken a wrong turn and put them back on track.

Adrian Jimenez knows that feeling. The 17-year-old was part of last

year’s group, but came back this year to see his pals and show off the

“new me.”

The transformation for Adrian was dramatic. After the show, he got rid

of his baggy clothes, started growing his hair, stopped hanging out with

gang members and went back to school.

“It’s like this experience opened a whole new me outside of me,” he

said. “I just opened up.”

The experience was similar for 16-year-old Carlos Jose Amador, who now

works with teens at Planned Parenthood, teaching them about safe sex and

protecting themselves.

“I think it changed me because everyone was nice to me,” he said.

“That’s never happened to me before. It made me want to be a better

person.”

FYI

Performances will be held at 2 and 5 p.m. today at the Orange County

Performing Arts Center’s Founders Hall, 600 Town Center Drive, Costa

Mesa. Information: (714)556-2121.