Highlands Musical Cabaret promises to have audience dancing in their seats

It’s been 32 years since Highlands High School alum Michelle Peters sprayed her hair into a black beehive and strutted across stage as the misunderstood bad-girl Rizzo in the high school production of “Grease.”

She’ll be back in the same auditorium on Saturday, belting out a ballad from the show — “There Are Worse Things I Could Do” — and doing her best to imitate Stockard Channing’s sultry vocals.

Peters, who lives in Harrison, is among several alumni scheduled to perform in the 10th annual Highlands Musical Cabaret, celebrating 35 years of the district’s high school musicals.

“Music was one of the most enjoyable memories of my time at HHS,” said Peters, a senior administrator at UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh. “I’ve formed several lifelong friendships from my experiences in high school musical programs.

“The best part is watching our children now get to have the same experience.”

In addition to toe-tapping entertainment, the event will feature raffle baskets, a 50/50 raffle and a meet-and-greet.

The suggested donation at the door is $5, with all proceeds supporting this year’s musical, “Disney’s High School Musical 2: On Stage!” scheduled for March 25-27.

Directed by high school choral/musical director Michael Zeiler, the concert showcases about 18 former students. Zeiler called them the “golden stars” of their high school days.

The show will highlight the high school honors choir and also recognize the 2022 musical cast, led by senior Jake Peters (Michelle Peters’ son) and junior Helena Vasey. Some of the songs will have audience members dancing in their seats, clapping along or feeling a bit nostalgic, organizers said.

“This is a big honor that 35 years is being celebrated,” said Zeiler, musical director since 2011 when he staged “The Wedding Singer.”

“We want to preserve the golden legacy and let people know that where we came from is so important.”

Zeiler, himself a Highlands graduate, said his four years participating in musical productions shaped his future.

“They truly changed my life and are the reason I became a music educator,” he said. “I believe the best thing you can provide a child is to make them believe in themselves. There are so many components in musicals that give someone an ‘a-ha’ moment of believing in their ability.”

The 10th annual Cabaret will celebrate more than three decades of performances with a look at every fifth show, beginning with 1988’s “Bye Bye Birdie” and moving through 2017’s “The Little Mermaid,” before the grand finale — a sneak peek of “All For One” from this year’s show.

For each Cabaret, Zeiler begins recruiting singers at Thanksgiving. Thanks to now-common technology, he was able to audition alumni from out of state.

Three will perform virtually at Saturday’s show.

Julia Selden, Class of 2013, is one of them. A manufacturing operations manager with Kimberly-Clark in Augusta, Ga., Selden said she misses the exhilaration of being on stage. She has joined several community theater productions over the years to recreate the feeling.

She believes the audience will appreciate the diverse talent that will gather Saturday.

“It will be a great reminder of how the arts strengthen our community and truly bring people together,” she said. “Musical theater and the arts were a major part of my upbringing, and I want to be able to spread the same joy and passion that I experienced.”

Highlands graduate Jeff Grabigel, from the Class of 1979, has participated in the last three Cabaret fundraisers. This year, he will perform “Hey There” from “The Pajama Game.”

His wife, Kathy, is vocal director of the current high school show and has served as acting coach for the last five years.

A floor coverer for PA Carpenters, Grabigel doesn’t have much spare time to perform these days, but does miss it at times.

“My wife and I met during a show (while in college at Penn State New Kensington) and have performed together in countless shows in the Pittsburgh area,” he said. “I really think the audience will enjoy taking a journey through the history of Highlands High School musicals.”

For Peters, the Highlands alum who’s playing Rizzo from “Grease,” the show presents an opportunity to share the stage with her soon-to-be graduating son, which she described as bittersweet.

Though she has butterflies about the performance, Peters said “the audience will be blown away by the talent that Mr. Zeiler has lined up.”