Menu

Fort Frances High School

Musical review 2026 1

Fort Frances High to Pump up the Jamz

, ,

“Pump up the jam, pump it up

While your feet are stomping

And the jump is pumping

Look ahead, the crowd is jumpin’“

  • Technotronic

Fort Frances students will be looking for the crowd to be jumpin’ when they ‘Pump Up the Jamz” at the Townshend Theatre this week.

It is the theme of this year’s musical review.

Grade 10 student Scarlett Morrison says they will perform a variety of popular songs.

“I think there’s some from the 80s, there’s some from the 2000s and something from today,” says Morrison.

“Just songs that have aged well and get stuck in your head a lot.”

“Definitely a lot of influence from my generation, 2010s, 2000s,” says Grade 11 student Woods Parent.

“That kind of stuff that, for me personally, I grew up with just because of the group that’s working on it this year.”

The students were provided a list of songs to consider at the start of rehearsal, which started several weeks ago.

Some were added based on student recommendations and what they want to sing.

Some of the numbers are dance numbers, with students taking up the role of the choreography.

“This is the first musical review where we don’t have an adult doing choreography at all,” says Parent.

“It was me and Cassandra Armstrong who choreographed the larger numbers and along with some of the smaller ones.”

Both students have experience in dance, with Parent involved in choreography for Musical Review last year.

“This is my third year in musical review. I think this is gonna be the best one of them all so far,” exclaims Parent.

Fort Frances High School students rehearse for this year’s Musical Review, October 18, 2026. Supplied photo

“Truly, this is an amazing group. It has some great songs. The choreography is great. I mean, I say so myself. The song choices, again, they’re newer, they’re livelier. I think it’s gonna be a great time.”

I love all the choreography for everything and getting to work with all of my friends and have a lot of fun just doing everything,” adds Morrison.

Performances at the Townshend Theatre will take place Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, beginning each night at 7 p.m. Doors will open at 6:30.

This year, it is also a free show, so everyone of any age is welcome to enjoy some of the best musical talent Fort Frances High School has to offer.

Scott St. on a Sunday June 2019 (1)(1)

Windows Alive project to transform downtown core

,

The Fort Frances Downtown Business Improvement Association is teaming up with the Chamber of Commerce to revitalize the downtown core.

Local artists have been commissioned to paint murals on shop windows down Scott Street as part of the Windows Alive project.

Windows Alive is the “brainchild” of Fort Frances event and marketing manager Rhonda Howells, said Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Heather Johnson.

“As in many small towns, when you go downtown now there are so many empty storefronts. We’re missing our retail space,” Johnson said. “We thought well, you know what, we’ll go down and figure out who owns the empty buildings and we’ll talk to them and try to get some paint on the windows to liven up the downtown area.”

While the initial idea was to paint over the windows of closed shops, Windows Alive garnered attention from active business owners as well.

“We thought we’d expand it to the active business owners too and they were more than welcoming,” Johnson said. “It’s really good that basically the whole downtown area has signed up for the project.”

The owners of the buildings can choose between three main subjects for their window murals: local animals, local landmarks or local Indigenous art.

Most of the murals are still in the design stage, but Johnson was able to share a couple of the works coming to Fort Frances.

“Causeway Insurance is going to have the Causeway drawn on one of their windows, and Turtle Island Cafe and Barber Shop is going to have a turtle,” she said.

All artists commissioned are local. At least five of them will be Fort Frances High School art students.

“It’s going to be great to go down and watch them actually paint these pictures on the windows and be part of the whole process,” Johnson said.

The project is scheduled to be completed by the end of April.

Oh, the Places You Wil Go poster Oct 2025

Oh, The Places You Will Go starts Wednesday at the Townshend Theatre

, , ,

Fort Frances High School students are looking to take you places.

Oh, The Places You Will Go is the title of this year’s musical revue.

It takes place on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday night at the Townshend Theatre.

Grade 10 students, Woods Parent says they will take spectators on a musical trip around the world.

“The theme this year is places, so it’s songs that come from all around the world and reference places. We try to implement that in the choreography throughout eras and such as different,” says Parent.

“We’re to go to the Copacabana. We’re going to go to the Pacific. We’re going to go to New York. We’re going to go all across the globe. Broadway, every corner of the globe,” says Grade 13 student Jameer Cornielle.

“We’re going to Babylon, Waterloo, and Istanbul,” adds Grade 12 student Qianna Bell.

“I think we’re all going to do amazing, and that everybody should come and see the show,”

Bell agrees, knowing that students have put in a lot of work and time for this week’s performances.

“Students have choreographed their own performances. People have been working on this. It’s been a tight time crunch for everyone. It’s been a lot of work at home and on our own time,” says Parent.

“I think this one definitely has potential to be the best of them,” adds Cornielle.

“I’ve done every revue since we’ve come back from COVID, and there’s been some really great ones. I don’t know what it is about this revue, but I think it can be the greatest view we’ve ever done.”

Tickets will be available at the Townshend Theatre, but you get a better deal online by visiting Ticketscene.ca.

“It is actually better if you buy your tickets there because you can choose a seat in advance, and it’s also cheaper if you buy your tickets online. They’re $12 if you buy them at the ticket booth when you come in, and they’re $10 if you buy them online,” says Cornielle.

Parent is making his second appearance in a musical revue, adding to two other performances, most recently starring as Bobby Pepper in last spring’s staging of the Broadway musical Curtains.

“A lot of the people here are very experienced because there are a lot of grade 12s this year. So, a lot of the people here have been doing this (for many years),” Parent says.

Cornielle has made 14 appearances in musical revues and others.

“It started with the fall play when I was in grade nine, which is now called the Christmas play. My friend just needed someone to audition with. I had no interest in it. I was the only one who was willing to audition with her. From there, I fell in love with it,” says Cornielle.

Bell also found the acting and singing bug early on.

“I accidentally stumbled into the fall play back in my grade nine year. I meant to sign up for the musical revue, and I didn’t get into it that year. But I started with the play and went through all of it and loved it,” says Bell.

You can see all three perform with others in the show at the Townshend Theatre, beginning at 7 p.m. each night.

A link to tickets can be found by clicking here.