'Drama High: The Making of a High School Musical'
Remember when drama club was for geeks and miscreants? (Well, it was at our school.) But thanks to the kids from High School Musical, even cool kids are tripping the light fantastic on stages across America. To prove it, ABC airs Drama High: The Making of a High School Musical, a special episode of 20/20 airing Monday, Dec. 15. A little singing, a little dancing, a little eyeliner, and these kids are just two steps from Broadway. So if you want to relive the days when you got wedgies on a daily basis and thrown into your locker because you accidentally hummed the melody to What I Did for Love, call your friends and neighbors, because we're about to throw a musical!
Setting the scene:
The secret to any good high-school musical is the sets. And since school budgets are tight, this calls for a lot of poorly painted cardboard trees, shrubs and picket fences. At one end of the room, build a makeshift porch with raw lumber, replete with either a small table and chairs or a swing. That's where most action takes place in high-school musicals. Feel free to Google "set construction" to get some concepts that will certainly be too complicated for what you need. Have a trunk with costumes purchased at a consignment shop for guests to try on when their scene starts. (Yes, have a scene from your favorite musical planned out with music and dance steps. Invitations should be in the form of tickets to the show.)
Attire:
"Boys" dress in ill-fitting suits (a la Willy Loman) and "girls" should be encouraged to wear country dresses fit for a barn dance. (Hey, we don't make the rules; we just follow them.) Someone gets to be the director and carry a clipboard.
On the menu:
The after-party of a school musical is just about the happiest place on earth, thanks in large part to the 6-foot sub and pints of milk in giant bowls of ice. Feel free to also serve nachos and cheese, potato chips, soda and pizza.
On the hi-fi:
If your guests have kids (or are kids) feel free to play the soundtrack to High School Musical. If not, go with soundtracks from the tried and true: Annie, Cats, Cabaret, Camelot, Guys and Dolls, The Music Man, Hello, Dolly! and The Wiz, the musical Drama High is centered around.
The showstopper:
Participating in a musical is a direct path to two things: either the Great White Way or getting beaten by those who believe Andrew Lloyd Webber is a vessel through which most of the world's ills come. Regardless, a trip to Broadway will put it all in perspective.
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