NEW LONDON – New London High School will be presenting Disney’s “High School Musical” on Saturday, Oct. 3 at 7:00 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 4 at 1 p.m. and Monday, Oct. 5 at 7 p.m.
Sunday’s performance will be one of the kick-off events for the annual homecoming week.
“High School Musical” premiered on the Disney channel in January 2006.
The soundtrack from the show became the top-selling album that year.
Stagedoor Manor summer theater camp in the Catskills presented the premiere of the stage adaptation in August 2006.
Since then, schools were able to obtain licenses for the production by that fall.
Thousands of middle school, high school, youth groups and community theaters perform the show every year.
Lead characters in the story Troy, Gabriella and the students of East High must deal with issues of first love, friends and family while balancing their classes and co-curricular activities.
The story begins the first day after winter break at East High. The jocks, brainiacs, thespians and skater dudes find their cliques, recount their vacations and look forward to the New Year.
Basketball team captain, Troy, discovers that brainy girl Gabriella, a girl he met singing karaoke on his ski trip, has just enrolled in East High.
They cause an upheaval when they decide to audition for East’s annual musical. Even though many students resent the threat to the “status quo”, Troy and Gabriella’s alliance just might open the door for others to shine as well.
Art imitating life
New London’s production of “High School Musical” is a great example of art imitating life.
Male lead New London senior Cory Brooker is playing Troy’s character. Cory is an accomplished athlete. This is Cory’s first high school experience with singing, dancing and acting. He decided to try out for the show last spring after he worked with musical director Kevin Spindler on a karaoke contest as part of last spring’s prom activities.
He and Spindler won first place in the contest.
At that point, he was encouraged to try out for the fall musical by students and staff.
From athlete to actor
Cory decided to give it a shot, not really expecting to get a part. He was concerned about fitting rehearsals into his busy schedule.
Cory is an accomplished athlete at NLHS. He is a captain and starter for the varsity football team, playing wide receiver on offense and safety on defense. He is also a captain and starter for varsity basketball.
Academically, Brooker is an Honor Society member. He is also an officer for both DECA and the Bulldog Peer Mentoring program.
The best of both worlds
“Mr. Spindler did an amazing job coordinating schedules so that athletic students can get to sports practice and musical rehearsals,” Cory explains.
He added, “Learning choreography and how to sing correctly has been challenging and a little scary, but the cast, crew and directors have been so helpful and encouraging that I’m improving and feeling more confident every day.”
Brooker admits he was also a little anxious about how his teammates would react to his participation in the musical.
However, he said that the guys have been excited and supportive of his endeavors.
“It’ll be great to have them in the audience, cheering us on,” said Brooker. “I can’t wait for everyone to see the dancing scenes with the basketball team.”
“I encourage all underclassmen and especially sports kids who’ve never participated in music and drama activities before to get involved next year.
It is a lot of work, but so much fun too. I’ve made a lot of new friends and I’m so glad I took a chance and tried out for this show,” said Brooker.
Musical Director, Kevin Spindler is also excited about the show.
“Disney shows are always uplifting and fun,” says Spindler. “High School Musical’ has catchy music and heartwarming themes.”
He notes the dedicated costume and technical crews are working hard to give audiences a professional, entertaining theater experience.
“Young talent is discovered and our school community becomes stronger when students challenge themselves and break out of social norms. That’s the power of the arts,” said Spindler.
Ticket information
Disney’s “High School Musical” performances take place at 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 3 and 1 p.m. Sunday Oct. 4 and Monday, Oct. 5 at 7 p.m. Tickets are $15 for adults and $8 for K–12 students. Purchase tickets online through GoFan or at the door.
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