(January 20, 2022) Students from various schools in the Rochester City School District will have an opportunity to show off their artistic talents two nights in a row. On Friday, January 21 at 7 p.m. and Saturday, January 22 at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m., Disney’s High School Musical Jr. will be performed at East High School, 1801 East Main Street, Rochester, NY 14609. The fun-filled 60-minute musical based on the 2006 Disney Channel Original Movie, designed for middle school-aged performers, includes 45 cast members in grades 4 – 12 from schools all across the District.
Students involved in this production are part of ROC City Players (RCP), which was founded in 2017 by Dominic Pickard and Taylor Johnson. Pickard is the Director of Arts for the RCSD, and Johnson is the District’s Musical Director as well as a music teacher at John James Audubon School No. 33. RCP services students throughout the RCSD who want to create magic on stage. With a dedicated crew of adults, students, and families, five different musicals have been produced, with two shows each school year. Previous performances include Beauty and the Beast, Once On This Island, Shrek, Frozen, and Willa Wonka.
As for the show itself, this up-beat throwback to the ins and outs of high school drama is a nostalgic romp for young and old alike! An audition notice is posted for East High’s spring musical, and superstar athlete Troy and science whiz Gabriella secretly want to try out. Will their dreams be thwarted as they navigate the cliques of East High?
All materials in Disney’s High School Musical Jr. are provided with special arrangement through Music Theatre International (MTI). Adapted for young performers, this musical includes favorite High School Musical songs such as “Get’cha Head in the Game,” “Stick to the Status Quo,” and “We’re All in This Together.”
The following COVID-19 policies are in place for all performances: Masks are required at all times while in East High School, there will be a distance of two seats between parties, and ill or quarantined individuals should stay home. People attending the performances can support the RCSD Arts Department by purchasing grab-and-go concessions to take home or send to a cast or crew member.
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