Madison Theatre presents its ‘High School Musical’

This has been quite the year for Madison Theatre, the program I advise out in eastern Lake County.

Like every other high school theater program in the nation, our 2020 spring musical — “Chicago: High School Edition” — was indefinitely postponed. Unlike just about every other high school in the area, however, a stubborn director (yours truly) and a cast conveniently light on seniors was able to mount a production in October.

This made Madison High School the first known high school in Ohio to perform a live full-length musical during the coronavirus pandemic. We had to adapt our planned performance at the historic Rabbit Run Theatre to the high school gym, but we were able to do so and, most importantly, pulled it off without a single quarantine or known COVID case.

Now that’s some “Razzle Dazzle.”

Now six months later, Madison Theatre is poised to do it again with a socially-distanced production of “Disney’s High School Musical On Stage!” both on the floor of the Madison High School gym and on the stage at the end of the basketball court.

The school is at 3100 Burns Road in Madison. Performances are May 13, 14 and 15 at 7:30 p.m. and May 15 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $9 general admission for all and are only available via online advanced sale at https://www.madison-lake.k12. oh.us/. Choose “Athletics” from “Quicklinks” and then “Tickets.”

The May 13 performance is currently sold out, but tickets remain for the other three performances.

There will be a limit of 200 masked audience members allowed to sit socially-distanced on premarked areas of the east bleachers in the school gym.

Cast members will not wear masks for this performance but will when backstage, according to protocols approved by the Lake County Health Department and Gov. Mike DeWine’s own state guidelines for the reopening of live theaters.

I’m directing “Disney’s High School Musical On Stage!” with music direction by Madison Schools vocal music teacher Jennifer Calhoun and assisted by Rachel Imhoff, a student-teacher from the University of Akron. Choreography is by Jailyn Harris with tech direction by Paul Gatzke.

“Disney’s High School Musical On Stage!” is an adaptation of author Peter Barsocchini’s and director Kenny Ortega’s hit 2006 Disney Channel movie, which introduced audiences to Zac Efron as basketball stand-out Troy Bolton and Vanessa Hudgens as Gabriella Montez.

The story revolves around the students at East High and their issues of first love, friends and family while balancing their classes and extracurricular activities. Join the Jocks, Brainiacs, Thespians and Skater Dudes as they attempt to “Stick to the Status Quo.”

If there were ever a show that was perfect to perform on a gym floor with a stage on the other end, this show is it!

Not only that, but some of the seventh- and eighth-graders from Madison Middle School that were cheated out of their own middle school musical this past fall will make appearances in this production along with the high schoolers who are generously sharing their stage with their fellow Blue Streaks.

Times are tough all over, but the Madison School District has placed a priority on allowing art to continue. As we have learned in the pandemic, “E-A-R-T-H” without “A-RT” is just “E-H.”

It has not been easy putting together a full musical production with COVID protocols in place, especially after the financial hit of not being able to perform “Chicago: High School Edition” as planned, but these students seem to once again be on the verge of a brave success.

We hope that theater lovers everywhere will come on out and support this program and these theatre-hungry students. After all, “We’re All in This Together.”