Echoes of “We’re All In This Together” spilled through the cracks of the auditorium doors as students shuffled their feet across the stage, cheered on by the crowd, for a role in this year’s musical.
The theater department pivoted to hosting auditions on Sep. 19 for “High School Musical” instead of “In the Heights.” Although sophomore Adam Adams was excited for “In the Heights” and its “diverse songs filled with so much energy,” he still looks forward to performing “High School Musical.”
“Just seeing [the people] in the auditions, I know that they have the energy, they have the body, the voice, the mind for it,” Adams said.
Theater director Randryck Lewis made the change after the publishing company denied high schools the rights to perform “In the Heights.”
“‘High School Musical’ has been on our shortlist for a few years now. We’ve been trying to decide the right time to do it, and as soon as they nixed “In the Heights,” I knew that we would be able to do ‘High School Musical,’” Lewis said. “We have a lot of characters in our class, larger than life personalities.”
“High School Musical” is known for its soundtrack and choreography reminiscent of the 2000s. Despite “In the Heights” being one of senior Shawn Burn’s favorite musicals, Burns said both musicals have a good sense of community and appreciates how iconic it is.
“I will say that I was able to shift my energy and become as equally as excited for this as I was for ‘In the Heights,’” Burns said. “It doesn’t matter what it is, theater is in me and music is in me. So whatever we’re gonna do, we’re gonna do a great show.”
Choir director Melanie Gorsalitz has been directing the musical for the past four years. According to Gorsalitz, this was the largest number of students she has seen at an audition.
“The turnout was absolutely amazing,” Adams said. “I just love seeing everyone work as a team, seeing everyone hype everyone up. It was so beautiful.”
Lewis mentions its underlying themes of unity, forward thinking, and leadership.
“My hope is that people don’t just take away the nostalgic songs and dances, but that they really do lean into the message of High School Musical, which is essentially, we’re all in this together,” Lewis said.
