By Viviam Liao,
Staff Writer
The San Gabriel Mission Playhouse opened their curtains for this year’s annual musical, ‘High School Musical,’ from March 10 through 12 starring seniors Isaiah Douglas and Ava Espinoza as Troy Bolton and Gabriella Montez, respectively. The musical premiered on March 10 and 11 at 7:30 p.m. and at 2 p.m. on March 12. This was the 56th of Temple City’s 58 years of musicals because they didn’t organize a show in 1972 and 2021 due to complications.
Instead of having one director run the show, co-directors Michael Kidd and Felix Avitia worked together to bring the musical to life. This year, Dragonflicks built the musical set along with wood shop volunteers, stage professionals and advisors, including props and 11 sets of bleachers.
Over 120 staff and students contributed to the show, including Dragonflicks, wood shop students, elementary and junior high cast members, pit orchestra and Brighter Side singers, amongst other volunteers. From January to the official premiere, cast and crew members spent around 10 hours rehearsing every week.
“The idea of the whole show is really inspiring, you can be whatever you want and you don’t have to be stuck in a crew,” senior Katherine Ke said. “The song ‘Stick to the Status Quo’ is about breaking free and being different, so conveying this message to the audience is the thing I enjoyed the most about the musical.”
Featuring a basketball captain and a brainiac, the audience follows Douglas and Espinoza as they struggle to break away from the typical stereotypes that their friends and peers pressure them to follow. The musical conveys the message of breaking free from the expectations of stereotypes and sticking together to overcome obstacles. As an off Broadway production, Temple City’s adaptation of the musical added new characters and dialogue.
“The musical was a lot of fun, it definitely wasn’t something I expected and it didn’t feel like I was forced to be there,” Douglas said. “Performing on stage was a memory that’ll last a lifetime. The initial nervousness left after opening night and after that, it just became fun and felt so surreal. Our cast is incredibly talented, and we have so many people that I’m so glad to have met because of the musical that I would’ve never thought of talking to.”