The show must go on...

By Matt Griesmyer

Hurricane Ike destroyed and delayed many things in the Gulf Coast area.  Local area college students and teachers were scattered throughout the state and events were put on hold.  For San Jacinto Community College-Central Campus, the show must go on.
Director of Theater and Film Jerry Ivins is putting on one of today’s most popular productions – Disney’s “High School Musical.” This particular show has been in the planning stages since summer of 2008, with casting that began in August of the same year.  The play was originally supposed to open in the fall, but Hurricane Ike put a dent in Ivins’ plan.
“We had originally cast 110, and had only three music rehearsals before the hurricane hit,” Ivins said.  [The cast and crew] were spread out all over the state.  When we finally came back together, we had lost two weeks of rehearsal, sat down, and decided we couldn’t put the show on in the fall.”
The decision to postpone the show until the springtime was made after returning cast members – many who suffered tremendously from Hurricane Ike – showed overwhelming support and willingness to come back and commit to it.  Even though many cast members did return, participation was cut in half.
The show, originally a Disney Channel Original Movie, follows the tale of a young basketball star named Troy caught up in the turmoil revolving around a new girl named Gabriella.  Once Gabriella moves to Troy’s hometown, the status quo of their high school gets turned upside down.   
Will fans of the original Disney hit enjoy this production?  Ivins thinks so.
“The music and story are the same and the music is what the music is,” Ivins said.  “It’s contagious, it’s catchy, and you can’t get it out of your head.”    
  Terry Jones, a film major at San Jacinto College, plays the male lead, Troy.  Jones says the rehearsal schedule has been extremely rigorous.
“Normally a show gets about five or six weeks preparation time, but this show has gotten about four,” Jones said.  “It’s really intense.”
The theater group reduced preparation time for the show due to other commitments.
Ellen Thornberg, 15, already a veteran of the San Jacinto College Theater troupe, expressed her love for the play and why fans of the original production should come to see the live theater version.
“I think [the show] is going to be even better than the original,” Thornberg said.  “The energy and spark that you see in everyone’s eyes as they’re performing is just something you can’t see through film.  It’s something about being there person to person that really makes this show special.”
Thornberg has performed in numerous other productions such as “The Rocky Horror Show,” “Oliver” and “Santa’s Christmas Magic.”
“This is a very high-energy show and we have lots of talented kids and a lot of hard-working kids,” Ivins said.  “You’ll have to have ridiculously high expectations of the film for you to not sit back and appreciate this show.”
San Jacinto College–Central Campus will be performing Disney’s “High School Musical” Feb. 27 at 10 a.m. and 7:30 p.m. and Feb. 28 at 7:30 p.m. in the Slocomb Auditorium, located at 8060 Spencer Hwy., Pasadena, TX 77505.  For more information, contact the box office at 281-476-1828.  Ticket prices are $15 the day of the performance, and $13 if picked up at least two days in advance.  Purchase tickets at the Powell Arena Box Office at central campus, open Monday through Friday, 1:30 p.m. – 5 p.m.