Romance and musical fans, here’s your summer treat: a modern-day version of “Romeo and Juliet,” set against a high school backdrop with high energy singing and dancing numbers.
Troy and Gabriella, the high school stars of “High School Musical,” gravitate toward two very different friend groups. Troy’s a star basketball player. Gabriella is an intellectual. Somehow they find their way into an unlikely friendship, and make an even more unlikely decision — to audition for the high school musical.
STARZ Theater Company will present “High School Musical, Jr.” on Friday and Saturday at Ascent Church in Monument. The 1 p.m. show Friday is geared toward younger audiences, with a dance party, giveaways and more.
Don’t worry, just because the show is the junior version doesn’t mean there are big changes. It’s simply a shorter, more condensed version than the original.
“High School Musical,” a Disney Channel Original Movie, debuted in 2006 with Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens in the lead roles. The premiere earned more than 7 million viewers and led to sequels “High School Musical 2” and “High School Musical 3: Senior Year.” The soundtrack hit No. 1 in the U.S., with the single “Breaking Free” hitting No. 4. Other popular songs include “What I’ve Been Looking For,” “Stick to the Status Quo” and “Start of Something New.”
“You’ll see all your favorite characters and hear your favorite songs,” said STARZ artistic director Laura Bergen. “We love this story. Just finding who you are, who you were created to be and the bravery to step into that. How empowering those moments can be.”
STARZ Theater Company, a division of Turning Pointe School of Dance, offers kids ages 8-18 theater, dance and vocal training classes. The company typically puts on a big winter musical — this year it’ll be “Beauty and the Beast” — but after receiving requests to keep theater activities happening throughout the entire year, STARZ producer Carmen Swank decided to institute a summer musical. “High School Musical” is the first.
Bergen, who’s the show’s stage and vocal director, loves to watch how being on stage builds confidence in the kids. For the current production, she has them put down their scripts as soon as they can and start singing and inhabiting their character. It’s not only about singing, she said, but making sure they tell the character’s story as they sing.
“It’s cool to see that in the same way these characters in ‘High School Musical’ are stopping into their dream, we get to watch these students step into these characters,,” she said. “They choose bravery and being vulnerable when they get stuck and can’t figure something out. For me as a director, that’s the most special part, being able to watch them step into those moments, own those moments and watch them shine.”
Being in theater and the arts helps set a person up for success for life, Bergen said. Often a role will require a student to act, dance and sing. Usually a student is less proficient in one area, but it’s an opportunity to grow. The same goes for life.
“We’ll always have areas we feel confident in and areas we want to grow in,” she said. “It’s important to not shy away from the areas we want to grow in, and that we lean into it until we get to a spot where it becomes more comfortable. Theater gives kids that opportunity regularly.”
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