Students give musical touch of their own muse

When the curtain goes up on Garnet Valley High School's production of

High School Musical

, the student actors will have faced the ultimate theater challenge: putting their own spin on an oh-so-popular story.

Thanks to the cult-favorite movie, every teen and tween has found a place among the East High overachieving brainiacs, too-cool-for-school jocks, or the divas of the drama club. But what every kid is really dreaming of is stealing the spotlight as the pretty-faced class couple, Gabriella Montez and Troy Bolton.

"The biggest challenge has been not to do the play like the movie because it has been already done so many times and it's Disney," said Sarah DeNight, the student director. "Trying to do it as our own thing . . . has been pretty hard."

Garnet Valley will put on one of scores of productions of High School Musical across the country this year, including at Chestnut Hill Academy in Philadelphia and Moorestown Friends School.

The school usually produces a drama in the fall but switched to High School Musical after an overwhelming student demand for the show.

The show will run from Nov. 8 to 10, but preparations and practices have been under way since the start of the school year. Not only is the production a challenge with its song and dance routines, but the students are doing their own directing (with their adviser watching closely).

Competing with vending machines and the latest gossip from the school day, senior DeNight herds the 150 hungry and antsy fifth through 12th graders into the auditorium seats. Into an hour-and-a-half practice, they jam singing, dancing and acting.

DeNight is taking a dual role in this production, as student director and on the stage as Taylor, the bossy brainiac.

Though the room is humming with voices, the cast members have a no-nonsense attitude as they take the stage. They know the importance of getting the show right, and they are feeling the pressure to give it their own flare.

Jordan Parenti, a junior who plays Chad, Troy's best friend and basketball star, agreed.

"It's hard because everyone is so used to the movie. There are a lot of new songs and the choreography isn't the same. You expect something and then it comes out differently."

Senior leads Julie Luzier and John Petrini, who play the class couple, Gabriella and Troy, have found their own set of challenges portraying their fictional romance.

With Luzier's long, wavy hair and sweetheart attitude, she is the red-headed version of Gabriella. Paired with real-life nice guy Petrini, the faux couple is as close as it gets to the real thing.

"I think the biggest challenge is making it seem realistic and believable," Luzier said.

The two blush as they run through their lines, a sign that they are still working on their on-stage chemistry. They hug awkwardly at the end of a scene, pushing their bodies away from each other, as their adviser calls out from the edge of the stage, "You're going to have to get more romantic than that! You are going to have to kiss eventually!"

But the challenge for the cast does not just lie on the stage. The students will not only be performing, but running the show as well.

"The goal of the fall production is that they not just learn how to be actors but they learn how to be set designers, directors, choreographers, publishers and producers," said adviser Heather Arters, a Garnet Valley English teacher.

Arters has been the adviser for the fall drama since 2005 and has watched the program grow from 10 students participating in 2005, to 50 in 2006, to 150 this year.

Though she has been allowing the students "to do their thing," she knows she may have to step in to ensure they are ready for opening night.

Dana McCloskey, who plays the role of drama queen Sharpay, has been acting in Garnet Valley productions since 2005 and remembers when the cast was just a few students.

"The other shows have only been one or two sets and nothing too elaborate, but in this there are so many more people. It's really exciting," McCloskey said.

Although she may not look the part with her lime-green Pink Floyd T-shirt and laid-back style, McCloskey has snobby Sharpay down. With her hand on her hip and hair thrown back, McCloskey booms lines like, "We need to save our show from people who don't know the difference between a Tony Award and Tony Soprano!" to her sidekick and brother, Ryan.

Along with DeNight, leading the behind-the-scenes crew is student producer Lynn Gold, a senior.

"The biggest challenge has definitely been having 150 people in the show," Gold said. "There is a lot of responsibility, a lot of organization stuff, a lot of time management. I really hope to improve my leadership skills. I can tell on a day-to-day basis I'm getting better and better."

High School Musical will be performed Nov. 8 at 7 p.m; Nov. 9 at 5:30 p.m.; and Nov. 10 at 2 and 7 p.m. in the Garnet Valley High School auditorium off Smithbridge Road.

Tickets can be purchased online at www.garnetvalleyspringmusical.com or by calling the box office at 610-579-7875.

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For a video story on the Garnet Valley show and a link to The Inquirer's school report card, go to http://go.philly.com/highschool EndText