ISM presents ‘High School Musical,’ April 4-7

The community is invited to attend the International School of Minnesota’s (ISM) upcoming production of the family-friendly “High School Musical,” based on the popular Disney Channel movie musical series of the same name.

The musical’s plot centers around teenagers Troy, Gabriella and the students of East High, who must deal with issues of first love, friends and family while balancing their classes and extracurricular activities.

Ariel Wilberg, ISM’s director of performing arts, said, “This is a fun show for everyone. Those who know the movies can come watch a familiar story on the stage. Those who don’t know the movies can see a story about being proud of who you are. This production is full of great music for all ages.”

Shows will be at 7 p.m. on Thursday, April 4, and Friday, April 5; at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Saturday, April 6; and at 2 p.m. on Sunday, April 7. All five performances will be at ISM’s Leila C. Saad Performing Arts Center at 6385 Beach Road, Eden Prairie.

Tickets are $8 for students and $15 for adults, with the exception of the 7 p.m. Saturday show, which is a special “Pay What You Can Performance.” Click here to learn more.

About the show

Wilberg said “High School Musical” is a perfect fit for this year’s ISM drama students, with several big feature roles, lots of dancing, and well-known songs.

“We have a large senior class this year, all have been active in performing arts for many years, and I wanted to send them off with a bang,” she said.

Wilberg said she is extremely proud of the hard work put in by the show’s cast and crew, which consists of 35 ISM students in grades one through 12. She particularly praised the leadership of the older students in the production.

“Having dedicated older students who act as role models for the youngest students is incredibly important,” she said.

Wilberg said there are fun roles for all ages: “Our youngest students get to be cheerleaders and basketball players in this production. They even have their own cheer number.”

Wilberg said the cast worked hard to learn the music, their lines, and blocking, before adding in costumes, mics, props, and staging.

“We start slow, learning the music first, then we start adding in elements slowly until we have a full production learned,” she said.

She noted that many of the student performers attended extra music and choreography rehearsals to get their parts down.

Meanwhile, she said, the “small but mighty” crew showed professionalism and ability to get things done independently in a compressed time frame as they learned to run lights, do sound, move props, and work on the set.

Wilberg also acknowledged the support given by the ISM community that helped make the production possible.

“Putting on a musical of this size is a group effort,” she said. “I have a number of parent volunteers who have been instrumental in this production. From costumes, makeup and hair, to the front of house like box office and concessions, this show could not be put on without the support of our community at ISM.”