Poughkeepsie Middle School hasn’t put on a play in roughly two decades.
But while the school may be inexperienced when it comes to theater, many of its students are not. And, they intend on impressing audiences this week.
Forty-one PMS students will put on a production of “High School Musical Jr.” at the school’s auditorium, with performances Thursday and Friday evenings. The shows not only mark the return of theatre productions at the school but the next step in the evolution of the Poughkeepsie City School District’s emphasis on arts education.
“I think audiences are going to really enjoy the songs, how we sound. We know the music by heart,” sixth grader J’Anna Campbell said. “Also, our dances, and the actors, and how the lights are set up – everybody does a really amazing job.”
The district in recent years has established a Comprehensive Arts Education Plan, hired additional faculty to ensure there are full-time art and music teachers for all schools, and launched such programs as the Smart Scholars Early College Performing Arts Program. The genesis of this week’s shows, though, dates to 2022. That’s when Krieger Elementary began its annual productions under director Nicole Schmitt. Now, many of the third and fourth grade students who took part in that first performance of “Annie” are sixth and seventh graders taking part in “High School Musical Jr.”
“It’s really amazing to have these kids – for some of them, this is their fifth production in four years – it’s really special for them,” Schmitt said before Monday’s rehearsal. While she estimates more than half of this week’s cast took part in “Annie,” including the two leads, “there are a lot of new students who are playing main roles. It’s really nice to see new kids gravitate to this and show so much talent.”
In all, there are 29 members of the cast and 12 crew members, including several students with exceptionalities taking part in each aspect. The play itself stays fairly true to the original Disney movie released in 2006, Schmitt said, with 11 fully choreographed musical numbers that are “just phenomenal. The audience will be clapping along and getting into it.”
Students also did the bulk of the work painting the set, and two students, including seventh grader Melody Jean-Charles, are operating the soundboard. “It’s quite fun,” Jean-Charles said of the role. “You get to see the actors do their stuff and you help the actors, too.”
Campbell said she hadn’t seen the movie until hearing about the play and considering auditioning. She said her best friend wanted to try out for the role of Sharpay Evans, played by Ashley Tisdale in the movie, but she gravitated toward Sharpay’s brother, Ryan, and the pair auditioned together and got the parts.
“I thought Ryan was a good character,” Campbell said. “He’s funny. He can sing. And I felt like that was me.”
Several of the students had some acting experience despite not attending Krieger. Some participated in districtwide elementary productions, which return next week with two performances of “Moana Jr.” Campbell said, “Performing is fun. You can portray different roles in normal life you’re not used to. You can be a different person.”
“High School Musical” itself is relatable to many young adults through a story based around students breaking free of expectations and embracing who they are underneath.
“It’s a bunch of cliques – a basketball clique, a brainiac clique, a theater clique – and nobody does anything outside of what they do,” Schmitt said of where the school is at the beginning of the story. “This whole play is about trying new things and making new friends, making new experiences for yourself and broadening everything you do.”
Schmitt praised the speed at which the middle school students learned roles and choreography compared to those at the elementary level. Though, she noted, this is the natural evolution of the district’s theatre emphasis. “I’m so happy to see this program growing at the secondary level,” she said. “In two years our high school will have a major cast and crew.”
Both the Thursday and Friday shows begin at 6 p.m. sharp; doors open at 5:45 p.m. They also planned a students-only show for Wednesday afternoon.
As the performances approached, Campbell admitted to feeling the nerves, especially when it came to performing in front of classmates. But, she was also eager to put on a show.
“I’m excited to see what everybody thinks of the play. I think we did an amazing job,” she said. “We’ve been working so hard. I’m very excited.”
High School Musical Jr.
What: Poughkeepsie Middle School play
Where: The school’s auditorium, 55 College Ave.
When: Thursday, May 15 and Friday, May 16; doors open at 5:45 p.m. and shows begin promptly at 6 p.m.
Cost: Free
