Upcoming play an alternate "high-school musical"
By Terry Smith
Athens NEWS Editor
May 1, 2008
An original musical will debut this weekend at ARTS/West in Athens, and its authors are three Athens High School seniors who decided they’d rather do something different.
Different from what?
Suffice to say, the high school musical that Colin Kruse, Ben Stewart and Nick Graham came up with is definitely not the “High School Musical” that the AHS Drama Club put on last week. This play, “Warehouse 39,” is described as a “two-act dramatic comedy laden with a wide variety of original musical pieces.”
The play runs this Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m. (The latter time is a change from the original schedule.)
In an e-mail interview this week, Stewart explained how the original play came into being. “The idea came together originally as an alternative for folks who weren’t interested in performing in ‘High School Musical,’” he said.
Asked why they weren’t interested, Stewart, himself an officer in the Drama Club, referred to HSM as “a glossy load of trash,” though he did acknowledge that it made money and “succeeded brilliantly.”
Each cast member, according to Stewart, had a different reason for wanting to get involved in “Warehouse 39,” though most of the reasons boiled down to just not liking HSM.
Yet, he added, “I’d like to make it clear that the cast does not want to be seen as an ‘oppositional musical’ as some have dubbed us.”
He also stressed that while they may have started writing and planning their play as a rebellious act, it took on a life of its own and “has assimilated several themes of hope and moving on, and we’re doing that in regards to AHS Drama. Hopefully, some of our more severe critics might see that, and just enjoy both shows.”
The plot of “Warehouse 39” involves 17-year-old Will’s return to his hometown, after disappearing a decade before. Will, played by Turner Matthews, hooks up with a group of friends from his elementary school days, and deals with their changed personalities and inter-relationships. The name of the play comes from the old warehouse where the group used to hang out.
In lieu of going into detail about the various drama and friction that arises among the group, we’ll just say there’s a lot happening. As the play’s description states, “problems multiply when all of these issues dramatically culminate shortly before graduation, leaving the audience and Will wondering… will the bond of the Warehouse 39 gang… survive past graduation?”
The play includes 11 songs, with Kruse and Stewart writing the script, Graham composing the score, and Stewart writing the lyrics.
While students are involved in almost every facet of the play, including the entire cast, Ann Moneypenny is serving as the adult adviser, and Ben Ziff and Olivia Dudding, both alums of AHS and current college students, are directing. Jon Boring, also an AHS grad and currently in OU’s School of Theater, is head of costuming and set, and OU junior Christine Beam is involved in some vocal direction.
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