Pascack Valley Theatre will put on their spring musical, “High School Musical,” Mar. 14, 15, and 16 in the PV auditorium at 7 p.m. with an additional show at 1 p.m. on Saturday. It is based on the 2006 Disney Channel Original Movie, “High School Musical,” the first in the trilogy.
“I think this is a really great adaptation of the movie to the stage and I think audiences are going to have a blast,” Director Thomas Lupfer said.
According to Lupfer, the theatre staff, made up of the directors, musical director, choreographer, and technology director, decided on this play due to the young cast.
“We were looking for a show that featured kids playing kids because over 70% of our cast currently is freshmen and sophomores,” Lupfer said. “We talked about several different shows that starred high school students and landed on this.”
“High School Musical” is different from plays performed in the past due to the combination of liveliness and familiarity with audiences.
“High School Musical has a ton of high energy, music, and choreography, and not that other shows haven’t—Chicago was full of that last year. It seems to hit different,” Lupfer said. “I think it’s because it’s such an iconic movie and people resonate with it, so it’s been a lot of fun to rehearse.”
Maintaining this high level of energy is key for the young cast.
“Having a younger group means that you have to drill music and run choreography more for students who aren’t used to that level of sequencing and practice, but this group has risen to the challenge and they’re doing great,” Lupfer said.
PV sophomore Erik Martin stars as Troy Bolton alongside sophomore Olivia Carpenter as Gabriella Montez. According to Martin, he relates to Troy in finding an unexpected interest in singing. Martin only started his theatre career in eighth grade and has since played roles from Michael Banks in “Mary Poppins” to Mr. Darling in “Peter/Wendy.”
“I think that the jump from Mr. Darling to Troy is kind of funny because they’re so completely different, but I think that there’s a lot of similarities between Michael Banks and Troy,” Martin said. “Michael Banks is this kid who just wants to have fun and do stuff, and that’s what Troy wants to do too. So I think there’s some similarities there.”
Aside from the cast, Lupfer explained that “there’s a lot of student leadership in the theatre program.” From stage managers, the company management team, dance captains, and vocal section leaders, students play a large part in the show. Specifically, Lupfer recognized the hard work of stage managers who organize and run rehearsals.
“When it comes time to do the performances, they’re [stage managers] the ones that are calling the light cues and the sound cues and making things happen,” Lupfer said.
Additionally, the students build and run all “tech elements” including lighting, sound, props, costumes, and scenic elements. This particular student-built “unit set” is unique due to the number of places it must be.
“This is a massive set,” Lupfer said. “It has to do a lot of things because it has to be lots of different locations within East High. Go Wildcats! We’re in the gym and the classroom and the auditorium and the science lab and the rooftop garden all in one.”
Due to the movie’s popularity, Lupfer and the costume team recognize that audiences may have high expectations.
“The costume crew has been working on researching their mid-2000s hairstyles, makeup, and costumes to make sure that we can get those accurate,” Lupfer said.
Martin applauds the costume crew’s hard work and accuracy.
“I just think that’s really cool that the clothes are so similar to the movie and that we’re able to pull that off,” Martin said.
When looking at the show as a whole, Lupfer has one favorite scene.
“My favorite moment is ‘Stick to the Status Quo,’” Lupfer said. “I just think it’s super fun and a great way to end act one.”
Martin also views “Stick to the Status Quo” as a major moment due to how the ensemble comes together. He regards the show as “ensemble heavy” and is excited for the audience to see their big numbers as “I think that the ensemble in the show is very, very strong.” Additionally, Martin feels that the audience will enjoy watching characters grow and change.
“I think that I’m really most excited for the audience to see how each character develops throughout the show,” Martin said. “Characters like Sharpay and Ryan have a huge development, so I’m really excited to see that.”
Lupfer views this particular show as a valuable challenge for the cast.
“We wanted to challenge the cast to learn complex choreography and music and figured that this was a good show to train them on,” Lupfer said.
Regarding theatre awards, Lupfer believes that “High School Musical” will be a hit.
“We think audiences are going to really engage with it and we’re excited to participate in three different award ceremonies this spring,” Lupfer said.
