1,708 miles from Amarillo to New York City. 1,500 sold-out seats at the Lincoln Performing Arts Center. Over 350 chorus members in the musical “Children of Eden.”
One of those 350 members was Randall’s own sophomore, 16-year-old Wesley Willburn.
Willburn is an actor and singer who joined Randall this year after transferring from Amarillo High. He has not only joined the productions class but has also taken his talent directly to the Broadway stage, when he performed as a chorus member in the Broadway production of “The Children of Eden” in New York City on Feb. 18, 2024.
“The theatre we performed in was completely sold out,” Willburn said. “The feeling of seeing that many people in the crowd gave me such an adrenaline rush, which is why I think I love theater so much, because of this feeling I get.”
His love for theater started here in Amarillo.
“When I was in the fourth grade, I went to see a show at Amarillo Little Theatre (ALT) and I found out there were theater classes you could take,” Willburn said. “I told my mom about it and she signed me up for the next semester. Ever since then, I’ve been doing theater every single year.”
His dedication and talent quickly became evident as he continued putting on performances for ALT, which led to his role as a chorus member in “The Children of Eden.”
“ALT does a thing called Showstoppers, which is their show choir, and last year a bunch of us auditioned for the show (“The Children of Eden”), Wilburn said. “Eighteen of us were selected and we got to go up to New York for a weekend and do a one-night show on their biggest stage.”
Balancing schoolwork with rehearsals was not an easy task for Willburn, but he has managed to continue to work hard in all his classes.
“It was very hard to stay on top of grades but Randall helps so much because we have flex time,” Willburn said. “Last year, when I was at Amarillo High, I would barely make deadlines because I would put it off until I could do everything at once.”
Looking ahead, Willburn has big dreams to continue his Broadway career after high school.
“My senior year, I plan on doing this thing called Unifieds, which is where thousands of music students come together and do a big group audition for different colleges,” Willburn said. “Then I’ll do a 4-year Bachelor of Fine Arts program and hopefully that school gives me an equity card because you have to have one in order to be on Broadway.”
Willburn plans to have this all done by the time he’s 26. But for now, he is focused on continuing to grow at Randall with performances in “Airness” and “A Christmas Carol,” both RHS productions.
“The community here at Randall is amazing,” Willburn said. “Productions treats everyone like you’re equal, and it reminds me that it doesn’t matter what age you start acting. “I felt like I was welcomed with open arms by them and anyone else who joins we will do the same.”
