Curtain call for stage stars

Four Marlburians stepped up to show America just how much talent that they have on the international musical theatre stage.

Tommy Phipps, James Dight, Amelia Kingi and Alice Kingi attended the Kiwi All-Stars 2025 trip to the United States, which saw students receive world-class coaching on Broadway before attending the Junior Theatre Festival West (JTF West) in Sacramento.

The 60 aspiring Kiwi actors attended gruelling acting, singing and choreography workshops in New York to work on their Beetlejuice Jr production, alongside sightseeing opportunities, attending Broadway shows, and actor interviews.

After a week in the Big Apple, the Kiwi All-Stars troupe travelled to Sacramento for the five days of JTF West.

They put together their show within the week – impressing many judges despite other troupes having months of preparations to win the Excellence in Acting award.

Marlborough’s Alice Kingi was acknowledged as part of the Festival All-Stars alongside Aucklander Georgia Ayson.

“From the long plane rides to New York week to just spending time with everyone, I had so much fun,” says Alice.

“I thought they would only look at main characters, but I was happy to find out they look just as much as the ensemble, so I’ll always remember that musical theatre takes more than the main characters.”

The final days were spent enjoying insider access to Disneyland and Universal Studios to end their trip.

“From seeing the actors on tv and then seeing it in real life was amazing, to see how and where they work, to changing sets in such a small area, TV doesn't give anywhere near the reality of shows”, adds Tommy.

“I really enjoyed the night shows on Broadway festival, performing and doing workshops with new friends.

“The coaches were amazing with teaching and advise to take into our own performing lives, and it’s a trip I will never forget because I have learnt so much more than I could have imagined”.