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SHOW SUMMARY A NOTE FROM THE DIRECTOR...
On the front steps of East High, it’s the first day after winter break. It is with great pride and pleasure that we present Pine-Richland’s spring
The Jocks, Brainiacs, Thespians and Skater Dudes find their cliques, recount musical for 2021, High School Musical On Stage! Despite this being a difficult year,
their vacations, and look forward to the new year. In Ms. Darbus’s homeroom, the P-R students more than met the challenge of bringing a virtual musical to its
basketball team captain Troy discovers that Gabriella, a girl he met singing karaoke audience during these Covid-19 times.
on his ski trip, has just enrolled at East High. When he calls her, the eccentric
drama teacher quickly confiscates all cell phones and assigns detention. While we were acutely aware of what we needed to do to stay safe and
responsible as a cast and crew, our focus remained on shaping the talent, drive, and
Between classes, Gabriella and Troy look at the audition sign-up for teamwork required to put on a great show. We made a movie. Our musical is not a
the school musical, but the drama diva Sharpay discourages them. At basketball filmed version of the stage show; it is a full-blown cinematic treatment of the High
practice, Troy tries to shake his desire to sing at the urging of his best friend School Musical.
Chad. Taylor, the science club president, discovers Gabriella’s intelligence and
encourages her to join the upcoming science decathlon. While the students learn Thanks to the efforts and expertise of senior Hailey Rihn, PRTV, and the
how to “act” at detention, Troy’s dad, Coach Bolton, faces off with Ms. Darbus – whole directing team, we created an entertaining and engaging musical for our
his star players can’t miss practice for Friday’s championship game! audience. The students were tasked with developing a new skill set. Stage performing
and performing in a movie musical are two different animals altogether. It was
The next day, hopeful Thespians strut their stuff for Ms. Darbus but exciting to see how they adapted to the demands of filming a scene several times,
they’re no match for Sharpay and her twin brother Ryan. Troy and Gabriella using different camera angles, close-ups, two-shots, wide shots, and many more
arrive too late to audition, but Kelsi, the show’s composer, plays the song her way movie-making techniques. One of the most difficult aspects of filming, which the
and encourages them to sing. Ms. Darbus overhears and gives them a callback. cast overcame, was singing and dancing while wearing masks. They came through
that particular challenge with flying colors.
News spreads fast. Sharpay is furious, and some students try to break out
of their cliques during lunch. Troy and Gabriella escape to the rooftop garden and High School Musical was originally a made-for-TV Disney movie which
share a little bit about their real selves. The Jocks and Brainiacs devise a plan to spawned a successful franchise, and most recently, a hit TV series. It seemed a
trick Troy and Gabriella into forgetting about the musical and committing to their logical choice to produce and film because it began on the small screen. Deciding
respective competitions. what parts of the high school we could film the various scenes factored into our
creative vision. The fact that the story takes place almost exclusively in a school
Thinking each one has betrayed the other, Gabriella and Troy are crushed. made it an ideal choice.
Against Ryan’s advice, Sharpay convinces Ms. Darbus to move the callbacks to
conflict with the science decathlon and championship game. Chad and Taylor put We are so grateful for all the students and their families who supported
their heads together to make things right again. While the Jocks and Brainiacs them in their efforts to make their musical dreams come to fruition. We hope this
compete, Sharpay and Ryan pull off a polished callback performance. When will be a high point in their high school experience now and for years to come.
Taylor’s laptop shuts down the electricity, Troy and Gabriella rush to the theatre, We could not be prouder of the Pine-Richland students in front of and behind the
but are too late. However, when the East High students arrive to rally behind camera! It was an honor and a privilege to work with so many talented students,
them, Ms. Darbus relents, and they sing their way into the lead roles. outstanding design and directing teams, and our Musical Boosters!
Back at the gym, the Wildcats win the game and the whole school comes
together as winners.
Thank You!
Sarah McGraw Krushinski
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