After many months of rehearsing, the students and staff in the Bridgewater-Raritan High School Drama Club officially presented its spring musical, “High School Musical,” from May 2 to May 4.
Tickets were $15 for adults and $7 for students and seniors. The curtains in the high school auditorium opened at 7 p.m. each evening and audiences were enthralled in the fictional story based off the 2006 film.
The play follows the narrative of two unassuming high school students who attend East High, Troy Bolton and Gabriella Montez. Troy is a popular member of the basketball team and Gabriella is a recent transfer student, and despite these glaring differences they both share a love of singing.
They both meet while applying to be a part of their high school’s yearly musical and form a love-based relationship. The rest of the play follows the two trying to make their unconventional relationship work and ultimately duet in their school musical.
Due to the musical’s ability to appeal to a diverse audience, Bridgewater-Raritan High School Theater Arts Club Advisor, Heather Diaforli-Day, who served as the Director of the Spring Musical chose “High School Musical.” The show’s audiences had overwhelmingly positive comments addressing the musical.
Students at the high school got to split into the shoes of their assigned characters. Some of the biggest roles included Josh Zagare’s performance as Troy Bolton, Adriana Minerva’s performance as Sharpay Evans and Jayleen Alvarado’s performance as Gabriella Montez.
Because it was a musical, many of the school’s musicians helped add music to the stage, playing their respective instruments in the chamber. The snare drummer Johannes Reddler commented on his experience participating in the play.
“The whole thing was a very cool experience. Despite my time only being spent at the beginning of the musical, I still am super grateful to have taken on the task of snare drumming for such an event,” he said.
Ultimately, the spring musical was a success in every metric. Students enjoyed participating and acting, viewers got to witness a great story interpreted by their peers and musicians got to aid the performance by adding their auditory touch. Future musicals and plays from the drama club will likely involve as much or even more student involvement in various regards.
