My first directing gig!!

Director’s Note—

Thank you, thank you, thank you to the cast and crew. I am in love with the passion and excitement that I see in every one of our performers—this is why I do what I do. In addition, this particular production crew holds a special place in my heart, as each of them has played a role in my past and continues to enrich my life. To Dan, Margaret, Jim, Nancy, Danielle, and Evan—thanks for everything you do. And to my old-school pals Jeff, Mary, Ernie, and Vince—I’m so lucky to have worked with all of you.

This story, loosely based on Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, has been told for hundreds of years. Shakespeare was not the first to tell it, and Disney will not be the last. What I love about High School Musical is its humor and hope. In it we see traces of the original tragedy, but we also see Disney’s trademark happy ending that is often described as cliché. But I like this cliché. Perhaps we should ask ourselves why we are so drawn to this type of story and why we keep coming back to it. This musical shamelessly ends on a positive note, and I think we can and should learn from that—why can’t we challenge each other to be caring, fearless, and true to ourselves? It seems these traits could improve the quality of life for us all.

It is my honor to work with young people everyday, and I believe we can learn a great deal from them. As Shakespeare’s fourteen-year-old Juliet so wisely questions, “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose / By any other name would smell as sweet,” let us too echo High School Musical’s teen inspired anthem. Let us break free from our preconceptions, our stereotypes, our cliques, and realize that we truly are “all in this together!”

Enjoy—And please feel free to laugh heartily, sing loudly, and bebop bravely!