Freeport, Highlands are 'All in This Together'

When the curtains rise next week on Freeport Area High School’s production of “High School Musical,” Troy Bolton and Sharpay Evans will be watching from the audience — sort of.

Actors from Highlands High School — set to perform the show’s sequel, “High School Musical, 2: On Stage!” — will be cheering on their counterparts in a special team-building gesture.

“The schools are each visiting each other for a dress rehearsal,” Freeport Area Theater Director Tom Koharchik said.

“I think it is great for the students to be able to see how others interpret similar characters. Performing in a musical is a unique experience, and these students will be able to relate to each other and understand the process involved in putting together a production.”

The move perfectly underscores the theme of unity in the popular 2006 Disney film.

Highlands Musical Director Michael Zeiler said the musical, a modern-day “Romeo and Juliet,” delivers a message of friendship that is so important in today’s world.

“As we return to a sense of normalcy, I feel the moral lesson of unity, despite so many differences among each other, is so important to build upon as a community,” Zeiler said. “Our differences are needed to unite us all.”

Members of both schools are eager to take the stage before their peers and deliver a positive message to audiences. Both shows are filled with upbeat music and intense choreography, along with show-stopping finales.

Freeport will stage its show at 7:30 p.m. March 3-5 and at 2 p.m. March 6 at the middle school. Highlands’ show will be at 7 p.m. on March 25-26 and at 2 p.m. on March 27 at the high school.

Highlands senior Danielle Guthrie landed the lead role of Sharpay, a bubbly character who loves the spotlight.

That neighboring Freeport is producing “High School Musical” in the same year has heightened the excitement for Highlands’ cast, she said.

“Going to see Freeport’s show will be a fun experience, and it will give us cast members different perspectives of our own characters, as well as motivate us to be the best that we can be,” Guthrie said. “The shows being performed the same year will bring us together.”

Highlands senior Jake Peters portrays the role of Troy Bolton. He said with both schools producing the show, the stakes are high.

“Of course it’s all friendly but I think it will push the shows to really be the best that they can,” Peters said. “With being able to go and see their show and them being able to do the same, I think it’ll really push for both our shows to try to impress the other.”

Zeiler said the cast meet-and-greets were a no-brainer, devised this summer shortly after Highlands revealed its intention to stage HSM 2.

“I instantly was contacted by my cousins in Freeport who said it was rumored that Freeport was going to do HSM1,” Zeiler said. “This was a really fun random act of fate.

“I knew instantly we had to do something cool to really drum up some hometown hype by celebrating both schools.”