By Rhonda Westfall

Being part of the 'world premier' of a new musical is another stepping stone in the already illustrious musical career of St. Johns High School alumnus, Chad Rehmann.

The junior at Michigan State University is as anxious as everyone involved in the Lansing Civic Players production of Folles to see the staged concert version of the new musical that debuts July 13-14 at Haslett High School.

"It's the biggest project I've worked on to date," Rehmann says of orchestration that he composed for the cast of 18 singers and 12-piece orchestra.

"It's been a blast - but also a lot of hard work. The final score is close to 400 pages which was done in 30 days."

Folles features 27 original songs. The show's director is Todd Heywood of Haslett, a newly elected trustee at MSU. Musical director is Christopher Hill of MSU.

Rehmann took the melodies from the composer and created all the choral and orchestral parts.

"Basically, I took the line and went from there," Rehmann says, adding that he's been working with the singers for the past month

Folles is billed as a "Byzantine Musical for the New Millennium." It tells the story of love, intrigue, betrayal, and revenge in and around the Imperial palace of Constantinople at the height of the Byzantine Empire around 700 AD

Show times are at 8 p.m. both nights. All seats are $5 in advance or at the door. Ticket information is available at 517-484-9191, 517-484-9115, or at the Lansing Civic Player web site, Civicplayers@juno.com

Rehmann had a pair of works premier this past spring during his sophomore year at MSU. The composition and music theory major will be involved in private study during the coming year with Dr. Ron Newman, working in jazz at MSU, and John T. Madden, director of MSU marching bands.