Cornerstone Christian School is making final preparations for its upcoming Disney’s High School Musical, set to take place at the Moose Jaw Cultural Centre starting Nov. 8, 2023.
The musical will take place on four separate days and runs Nov. 8 – 10 starting at 7 p.m. on each respective date. On Saturday, Nov. 11, the musical will be presented as a matinee only which kicks off at 2 p.m.
“We are getting ready to perform Disney’s High School Musical on stage, which is based on the movie,” confirmed Tanya Johnson with Cornerstone’s theatre department.
“If anyone is familiar with the movie, they will definitely recognize the plot,” she added. “It’s the classic sports versus theatre kids in a typical high school.”
Guests may recognize the plot, but there’s an additional message behind the performance.
“Troy and Gabrielle mix it up a little bit, so the sports kids can also be drama kids, and everybody can be friends,” said Johnson.
“You don’t have to let your click or the group that you are mostly associated with completely define you. You can break out of your comfort zone and try new things, be successful, and find friendships wherever you go.
“It’s a really fun show,” she said.
When compared to fall productions put on by other local schools, Cornerstone has a few unique surprises.
“What’s unique about our school is that we are a K to 12 school. We bring our elementary students into our high school theatre program, so you’ll see some of our elementary up and comers take their first bows on the stage and spread their wings a little,” Johnson explained.
“That’s always fun, to come and cheer on the little ones while they join the big kids on stage.”
Johnson said the performance will also include a special alumni performer who will make a guest appearance as the mascot in the musical.
“If anyone has seen our past shows before, they’re going to be able to see some of their favourite performers back again. Our students can be involved from as young as Grade 4 all the way through Grade 12,” she said.
“So, if (the audience) had favourites from Beauty and the Beast, some of those students will be on stage in a different role this year.”
To select the musical for each year’s fall production, Cornerstone has a creative team in the theatre department who makes the decision. This process gives students the opportunity to try out a number of different genres.
“We have a whole creative team, and what we do is look at the gifts, abilities, and talents of our students. We pick productions that we know will challenge them or highlight those skills,” Johnson said.
“We also look at the shows we’ve done in the past and see if there is a different genre or type of show that we can bring in, so that students have a vast variety of different types of shows they have the opportunity to be a part of… just to build those skills.
“Last year we did Beauty and the Beast which would be a fairy tale type of production. This one is a bit new as it’s a modern show. It takes place in a real place, and in a real high school,” she explained.
Johnson said the production will have 55 students on stage in a variety of roles from acting to backstage crews, and she wanted to acknowledge everyone’s hard work. “It takes a whole team of us to put a show like this on,” she said.
“I want to acknowledge Josh Carley as our music director, Jasmine Stevens as our choreographer, and my co-director Scott Robertson who was the principal at our school last year,” Johnson said. Robertson, who is now retired, has returned to the school to stay on as the technical director.
As the production has 55 students involved, Johnson wanted to give a special acknowledgement to costume designer Barb Slessor for all her hard work.
Tickets for the musical cost between $20 and $25, depending on the seat selection. To purchase your tickets, visit the Moose Jaw Cultural Centre’s website at MooseJawCulture.ca or SaskTix.ca.
The musical will have a double cast. “Depending on which night or which performance you come to, that will determine which cast you get to see. One group will repeat Wednesday and Friday; the other group will repeat Thursday and Saturday,” Johnson said.
“I hope to see people come out, and it will be fun for the whole family. Because it also involves sports, maybe people that don’t normally come out to musicals would come out to this one and enjoy it. We play basketball on stage – it’s kind of fun,” she concluded.
The Moose Jaw Cultural Centre is located at 217 Main Street North and can be reached at 306-693-4700.
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