Newport High School’s musical for the 2025 school year is the fun, Disney original film High School Musical. Directed by Mrs. Rebecca Wiles and Amy Finnerty, the musical is based on the film trilogy that started in 2006 on the Disney Channel Network.
This movie musical tells a story about how a shy bookworm named Gabriella, played by junior Jordin Briggs, meets a basketball jock named Troy, played by junior Riley Babski, on vacation during karaoke and finds out that they now go to the same school. Despite the disappointment of some well-meaning friends just trying to maintain the status quo, everything comes together.
The “On Stage!” version of this musical that Newport performs consists of 20 scenes altogether with the second act being two scenes longer than the first. Additionally, there is an ending “Megamix” which combines all of the main songs in the musical for one grand finale song. This year’s musical is shorter than previous musicals, averaging a 2-hour runtime.
Some of the more popular songs in this show include “We’re All in This Together,” “Stick to the Status Quo,” and “Breaking Free.” Some of the songs in the on-stage musical version are not in the movie version nor on streaming services. “Cellular Fusion,” Counting on You,” and “Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You” are not in the 2006 movie version. Those first two songs listed feature the supporting role characters in the show, while “Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You” features Troy and Gabriella as they start to realize they’re falling for each other.
This year, the musical is not losing many seniors on the stage, but it is losing most of the backstage crew. Seniors on stage include Olivia Crum and Chloe Strawser. Seniors who are “behind the scenes” in this musical include Dorothy Aldrich, Kat Ebling, Payce Smith-Robbins, Benny Stewart, and Claire Umland. It’s sad to see these very talented seniors leave the stage and behind the lights, but the cast wishes them luck in their future endeavors!
The musical will be held on Mar. 27, 28, and 29. All three shows are at 7 pm and tickets are available online. You won’t want to miss it! Go Buffaloes (or should I say…WILDCATS!)
