BROOKHAVEN — Five days into rehearsals for “Singin’ in the Rain Jr.” and teens crowding the historic Haven Theatre stage have already nailed the commandment of one of the classic’s most iconic numbers, “Make ‘Em Laugh.”  Director/Music Director Randy Redd chuckled with glee as they danced, romped and performed pratfalls their way through the song. Taylor Newby-Kahre, far right, directs teens in a song and dance number with a funny finish in “Singin’ in the Rain Jr.” at the Haven Theatre in Brookhaven. Credit: Sherry Lucas This week, for the fifth summer, Brookhaven native Redd is bringing his Broadway bona fides and three decades of professional theater experience back home to direct a show for the Brookhaven Little Theatre teen camp.  In just under two weeks, he and a few colleagues take seventh- through 12th-grade campers, fresh out of school, from “show up” to “showtime” on the stage of the community theater. Opening night is Friday for the musical’s three-day, four-show run at the Haven Theatre in downtown Brookhaven. A camp for younger kids (first- through sixth-graders), led by the Brookhaven Little Theatre’s volunteers, follows later this month, with performances of “Disney’s Aladdin KIDS” June 25-26. “There was nothing like this in Brookhaven when I was a kid,” said Redd, an actor, director and writer now based in Los Angeles. He recalled a Brookhaven Little Theatre production of “On Golden Pond” and a traveling marionette troupe as his sole memories of live theater from childhood. The kid in the cast of “On Golden Pond” caught his eye — ”I want to do that,” he thought — but no musicals crossed his path back then. Musicals have peppered his theater career, though, including his Broadway debut in the original cast of “Parade” at Lincoln Center, Off-Broadway credits including “The View Upstairs” and “Pump Boys Dinettes,” directing roles for “Million Dollar Quartet” and the “Sweet Potato Queens” musical at New Stage Theatre in Jackson, and much more. Now, in the same auditorium where he once watched movies — since renovated and home for live performances  — Redd turns a practiced, professional eye on a stage where nearly two dozen teenagers tackle a beloved classic musical about movies. Choreographer Taylor Newby-Kahre and Director/Music Director Randy Redd are part of a team of theater pros steering the Brookhaven Little Theatre teen camp and its production of “Singin’ in the Rain Jr.” The show opens Friday, June 5, 2026, for a weekend run. Credit: Sherry Lucas “The thing that I always try to impress to the students and the kids is that when I was their age, there was no such thing,” Redd said of the teen camp. “So, the idea that they’re here in my hometown, rehearsing musicals … and that there are kids that repeat this program, from when they were in the little camp all the way up until they’re sort of kicked out after high school – it’s amazing to me. “It is the reason that I come back and do this every summer.”  Support of Brookhaven Little Theatre and Production Manager Steven McMorris, who has been the theater’s leader since 2021, is a factor, too.  “He will do anything for the theater. He will do anything for these kids, anything for us,” Redd said. Founded in 1968, Brookhaven Little Theatre is among Mississippi’s longest continuously operating community theaters. Area schools hosted early productions, and the theater bought the then-vacant Haven Theatre (built in the 1930s as a movie house) as its permanent home in the mid-1980s. Its teen camp, started prior to COVID-19 and picked up again post-pandemic, initially followed a summer show format, with a month of rehearsal.  In recent years, “We wanted to create more of a camp experience, where we bring in a professional directing team and make it more of a concise experience,” McMorris said, with a show coming together in less than two weeks. Minimal staging and projected scenic backdrops keep the production simple and efficient. Participants go straight from full school days to full-time song and dance work, 9 a.m.-6 p.m. daily at the theater during the camp. First-timers find the confidence to get on stage. Veterans get a chance to sharpen their skills.  Brookhaven Little Theatre is in the renovated, historic Haven Theatre in downtown Brookhaven. Built in the 1930s as a movie house, it’s now home to one of Mississippi’s longest continuously running community theaters. Credit: Sherry Lucas “Some of the kids have the dream of going on and doing other things. Some of the kids, this is all they’ll ever do, and they’re fine with that,” McMorris said. ”We want it to be an outlet for anyone to just get some experience being onstage.” Along with Redd, the production team includes couple Ben Newby-Kahre and Taylor Newby-Kahre as assistant director and choreographer, respectively. Professional actors in New York and later Memphis, with broader performance and directing credentials to boot, they are now based in Oklahoma City, where they’re starting an after-school theater program for children of all abilities. Gregor Patti, a New York-based actor originally from Jackson, joined the team this week. Redd’s involvement is a tradition now, but it was not a given at the outset. First time out in 2019,  the teen camp production pick was “Les Misérables School Edition.” “I had never done one of these,” he said. “I said no at first.” The path to yes? He workshopped his dream project on the students — setting the musical in 1964 Mississippi during Freedom Summer. “The kids jumped in.” Redd was Taylor Newby-Kahre’s vocal performance teacher at New York University and the two have worked together off and on for about 20 years. Still, she was skeptical about this small town gig. That first show in 2019 changed her mind. “As soon as we got here … there were so many kids that wanted to do this, and were actually really good,” Taylor Newby-Kahre said. Many they see, summer after summer, back as participants. “It’s incredible how much they have just grown” in skills and self-confidence. “It is like night and day,” she said. “And that, to me, is the best part about theater, just in general. Because most of the people that do it, they become lawyers or CEOs … they don’t necessarily do this for a living, but you can take it anywhere.” Choreographer Taylor Newby-Kahre and Director/Music Director Randy Redd are part of a team of theater pros steering the Brookhaven Little Theatre teen camp and its production of “Singin’ in the Rain Jr.” The show opens Friday, June 5, 2026, for a weekend run. Credit: Sherry Lucas She said theater performance has value in public speaking and making and building connections. “This helps with all of that.” For the teens, the appeal is simple. “Fun” is a word that comes up a lot, but other factors, too, keep pulling them back to the stage — this one in particular — for a season show or camp production. “This just gives me a space to be creative, and sing and share my love of music with other people,” Magnolia Jones, 15, of Bogue Chitto, said. “I love being on a stage, and I love getting a reaction from people, like making them laugh or, if it’s sad, making them tear up.” Gage Dyess, 13, a rising eighth-grader at West Lincoln Attendance Center, enjoys the community and the people at Brookhaven Little Theatre, plus  “I like getting up there.” For “Singin’ in the Rain Jr.,” he is game for improv, trying out some gruff gravitas to voice his character, Hollywood producer R. F. Simpson. Andrew Miller, 13, of Hazlehurst, embraces the camaraderie.  “I like being part of something that multiple people are a part of, sort of like a team in football,” he said. “You have to be coordinated, communicate well with others, stuff like that. And I like making the community enjoy watching that team.”  Summer fun was a magnet for Oliviah McCullom, 13, and Lorelai Gennaro, 17, both of Brookhaven, and the chance to work with professionals is a big benefit. “It’s inspiring to me because I get to see, oh, they’ve actually done it. They’ve done the whole thing,” said Gennaro, who has the show’s lead role of Kathy and wants to continue in theater through adulthood. Scene and character work with Ben Newby-Kahre was a favorite part this year, beneficial for this show and her approach to future characters. “It’s just a big learning experience.”  McCullom counted the summer production as her ninth show at Brookhaven Little Theatre, and appreciated acting help from directors who improved her actions and reactions onstage. Randy Redd, left, Ben Newby-Kahre, seated, and Taylor Newby-Kahre, standing, bring decades of professional theater experience to Redd’s Brookhaven hometown, coaching a teen camp at Brookhaven Little Theatre. Credit: Sherry Lucas Gennaro praised it as a low-pressure intro to musical theater for teens, and a place to form easy friendships and connections, plus build confidence. “Throughout every year, I’ve gained more and more confidence, and I’ve gotten more comfortable not only speaking onstage, but out in the world,” she said. “I think we’re blessed. BLT, I feel like, is such a hidden gem in Mississippi, because it’s in such a small town.” Recalling the paucity of musical theater in his own growing up years, Redd counted off the current bounty in the area, including productions at Mississippi School of the Arts, Brookhaven High School and Copiah-Lincoln Community College as well as Brookhaven Little Theatre. “There’s so much, suddenly, right here in Brookhaven that the community has some options.” He wants to make sure the community knows about this one, and a slate of build-up events — a play reading, “Wicked” film singalong and more — plus encouraging participants to talk it up, spread the word. In the auditorium, Redd watched the camp’s teens trying on the well-worn classic and making it fresh for a new generation. His outlook was both professional and affectionate, likely with a dose of hometown pride. When 13-year-old Gage Dyess barked an order like some old-school Hollywood producer in the scene, Redd laughed and marveled at the comic surprise. “That was awesome,” he said quietly, never breaking his gaze at the stage. ...read more read less