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PEOPLE & ARTS Saturday 10 March 2018
High school musicals, teen angst star in new drama 'Rise'

By LYNN ELBER vision enables these stu-
AP Television Writer dents to see their lives in a
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Even different way and imag-
if you're trying to put the ine ... a different future for
squeeze on a ballooning themselves than they might
TV watchlist, consider the have had," Katims said.
pedigree of NBC's "Rise": Seller underscored the
It's from the "Friday Night importance of the arts in
Lights" producer who cre- young people's lives during
ated "Parenthood" and a a Q&A with reporters. He
producer of Broadway's recalled visiting New York
"Hamilton." for the first time as a teen-
With stars Josh Radnor ager and the "formidable
("How I Met Your Mother") experience" of seeing Jen-
and Rosie Perez ("Fearless") nifer Holliday perform the
and a strong cast of young "Dreamgirls" show-stopper
performers, including Auli'i "And I Am Telling You I'm
Cravalho of "Moana," the Not Going."
drama revolving around a “Rise,” he said, is a project
small-town high school and that “represents everything
its theater program clearly I believe in, which is family,
deserves attention. which is community, and
For Jason Katims, the This image released by NBC shows Rosie Perez as Tracey Wolfe, left, and Josh Radnor as Lou Maz- which is art, and that’s why
chance to take a differ- zuchelli in a scene from "Rise," debuting Tuesday at 10 p.m. EST. I’m here today.”
ent approach to themes Associated Press The show was already in
he explored as executive the works when the 2016
producer of "Friday Night "If I felt like that was the dent (Damon J. Gillespie) Pennsylvania town, which is presidential election high-
Lights" drew him to "Rise," show it was going to be I caught between his tal- struggling with hardship af- lighted national divisions,
debuting 10 p.m. EDT Tues- wouldn't have done it, be- ents as an athlete and a ter a steel mill's closure. He Katims said, but its small-
day. He was captivated cause 'Glee' did that so performer. The adults face challenges the status quo town, blue-collar focus
by the "idea of being able beautifully," Katims said. their own problems. and students by choos- makes the drama pertinent
to observe the people of "We spend as much time, Radnor plays Lou Maz- ing to stage a provocative without being overtly politi-
this community and do it more time in fact, in their zuchelli, a fictional version musical, "Spring Awaken- cal.
through this beautiful sto- (the students) homes and of Volpe who finds himself ing," instead of a more pre- “We never have to say
rytelling device of musical with their families and re- in a rut teaching English dictable, safe high school ‘Republican’ or ‘Demo-
theater," said Katims, who's lationships. ... and the the- and trying to cope with choice like "Grease." crat’ or ‘Trump,’” he said.
collaborating with "Hamil- ater becomes their home family tensions. Lou grabs (There's irony here: the on- “Just putting the show out
ton" producer Jeffrey Seller. base in a way that's driving a chance to take over his going network fascination there in the world and ob-
Don't be misled by "musi- the story." school's theater program with live musicals has itself serving this type of town
cal" and "high school." The The youngsters face chal- despite scant experience skewed heavily toward that doesn’t get observed
series, based loosely on the lenges that are both time- in the field and the fact he's comfortable fare including enough, without judging
life's work of teacher Lou less and contemporary, leap-fogged a more expe- "The Sound of Music" and, anybody, just letting their
Volpe that was detailed including teen pregnan- rienced colleague, Perez's yes, "Grease," with "Spring voice be heard, that is a
in Michael Sokolove's 2013 cy and gender identity. Tracey Wolfe. Awakening" staged only political statement.” “The
book "Drama High," doesn't Shades of "Friday Night But Lou's passion is real — for within fiction.) beauty of the story is that it
pick up where "Glee" left Lights," there's even a foot- theater, for the students he "The core of the story is this is aspirational, it is hopeful,”
off. ball thread, with one stu- wants to inspire and for his beautiful idea that Lou's he said.q
'A Wrinkle in Time' is a big

leap for its teenage star

By LINDSEY BAHR cago P.D.") and film ("12 more accepting and learns
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Storm Years a Slave," ''Sleight"), that she is worthy of being
Reid tried to play it cool but nothing even close to loved." DuVernay saw Reid
when Ava DuVernay told something like "A Wrinkle in very early on in the casting
her she'd gotten the lead Time." As the heroine Meg process and said every girl
role in Disney's "A Wrinkle Murry, she is in nearly every after had to measure up to
in Time," but it wasn't long frame, navigating mean her. Eventually she trusted
before the tears started girls at school, the loss of her initial impulse and went In this Feb. 25, 2018 photo, Storm Reid poses for a portrait at The
flowing. "I flipped out," says her father and even interdi- back to Reid. "This whole W Hotel in Los Angeles to promote her film, "A Wrinkle in Time,"
Reid, now 14 and in the mensional travel. "It's such thing doesn't work if you which opens nationwide on Friday, March 9.
ninth grade. The Atlanta- an important story to be don't have a great Meg. Associated Press
native started acting at told," says Reid, who had She goes from completely
age 3 after she told her done a book report on the depressed to defiant to thing on her shoulders. She's acting alongside the likes of
mother that she wanted Madeleine L'Engle novel in exuberant to joyful to de- incredible." The experience Oprah Winfrey, Reese With-
to be a "stuperstar." She's the 6th grade. "She goes on termined to fighting evil. It's of filming "A Wrinkle in Time" erspoon, Mindy Kaling and
had bit roles in television this beautiful journey and every emotion," says Du- was incredible, Reid says, Chris Pine, but because of
("NCIS: Los Angeles," ''Chi- finds herself and becomes Vernay. "She has the whole not only because it meant DuVernay's set.q