LA GRANDE — Peter Wordelman hopes to brighten up these winter days when Eastern Oregon University presents “The H20 Show” in early February.

“It’s not a traditional concert — it’s a little more wild than that. It’s meant to make you smile,” he said.

Wordelman is a professor of music at EOU. For every show, he chooses a theme and then selects songs from different generations and different styles.

“It’s all songs about water,” he said of “The H20 Show.”

Each section has sub-theme, including rivers, islands and rain.

“We do sing the ‘Gilligan’s Island’ theme,” Wordelman said with a laugh.

The show features 26 songs, and the cast of 42 started rehearsing on Jan. 5 to practice the music and learn the choreography with Michelle Benton, a choreographer/director from Los Angeles who has worked with EOU on five previous shows.

The show is presented by the EOU Chamber Choir and music department. Total rehearsal time was just 30 days.

“It’s a lot of work,” Wordelman said. “People get to shine and come out of their shell.”

There are three chances to catch a performance at EOU’s McKenzie Theatre: Feb. 2 at 7:30 p.m., and Feb. 3 at 3 p.m. or 7:30 p.m.

Tickets can be purchased at eou.edu/music or at Red Cross Drug and the EOU Bookstore. Tickets are $10 for adults, $8 for students and seniors and group tickets of 10 or more are $7 each. Advanced ticket purchase is highly recommended.

Wordelman said Red Cross Drug has been a long-term sponsor of this annual late winter concert.

“Without Red Cross Drug, this show wouldn’t be happening,” he said. “EOU is again grateful for all of the community support in La Grande and looking forward to the fast-paced, high-energy song and dance performance. We are pleased to again partner with Red Cross Drug to bring this show to life.”

The choreographer

Michelle “Mishka” Benton is a Los Angeles-based choreographer with more than 20 years of experience working in television, live theater and dance education. She is currently a choreographer at the Disneyland Resort.

Her work can be seen most recently on the first two seasons of the CW’s “Legacies,” where she and her partner Billy Rugh were the resident choreographers, as well as on “America’s Got Talent,” on Amazon Prime’s “Goo Goo Dolls Holiday Special,” in Disney’s “A Christmas Fantasy Parade,” the Pixar Play Parade, the Festival of Holidays at the Disneyland Resort, “The Lion King — A Summer Safari” for Disney Special Events, and on VH1’s “Trailblazer Honors with Rita Ora.”

Her choreography has also been seen with artists such as LeAnn Rimes, Lily Tomlin, Alan Cumming, Susan Eagan, Rachel York, Joanna Gleason, Jennifer Holliday, Stephanie J. Block and Jason Graae in various musical theatre productions and concerts.