Excitement was in the air as Hug High School’s production of “Carrie: The Musical,” based on Stephen King’s classic novel, came to the stage. This thrilling musical promised to captivate audiences with its powerful story and unforgettable performances as the first musical ever to be joined by a live band.
“Carrie: The Musical” tells the story of Carrie White, a high school outcast with a troubled home life and a secret power. As she navigates the challenges of teenage life, bullying, and self-discovery, Carrie learns that she possesses telekinetic abilities. The musical explores themes of acceptance, revenge, and the consequences of incredible power.
The dedicated cast and crew of Hug High School had been working tirelessly to bring this production to life, under the direction of Mrs. Macyn Coddington and Mr. Keith Roberts, the drama teachers here at Hug.
Directors’ Comments
According to Mrs. Macyn Coddington, this is her second year being a part of Hug’s Drama Program, and her favorite part of directing was the prom scene. “I love taking the kids to prom. I love the prom, prom is a lot of fun.”
I asked both of the directors to clarify the difference between producing a normal play and a musical, and Mrs. Coddington let us know that “there’s a lot more moving parts in a musical because we have the music, and granted we could use tracks, but this year we’re using a live band, so that adds even more to it. With a musical, you need a choreographer, you need a music director, someone to teach everyone the music, you need… um, I mean, if we didn’t have two directors, I think I’d be drowning!”
After being a part of Hug’s drama program for 25 years, Mr. Keith Roberts said that his favorite part of directing the show was “seeing so many kids do something new, a lot of the kids are doing new kinds of roles than what they’ve done before, and there’s a lot of new kids we’ve never had in a show before.” He really enjoyed directing this musical because “…it’s exciting to work with all these other adults who really are good at what they’re doing, and learning from them especially because I’m the old man in the group.”
The students have showcased their acting, singing, and dancing skills to deliver a performance that is both emotionally resonant and visually stunning. The set design, costumes, and special effects have been meticulously crafted to create an immersive experience for the audience.
Student Comments
I interviewed a few of the cast, crew, and band members to get an inside look into this production.
Kamari Jamael Cooper: Tommy Ross
“I’ve enjoyed using the band because it provides more energy and experience with real emotion in comparison to a track.” Kamari has been a part of Hug’s drama problem for about two years and his favorite thing about theater has been “doing previews and getting to see all the reactions from the student body.”
Shae Gerado: Carrie White
Only being a freshman, she gave an amazing performance, and she exclaimed that acting has become one of her passions. I asked her to share some differences of performing with a band versus with a track. “For a track, it’s sort of hard to get like timing, especially with this soundtrack because its mostly vamping. With the band it’s just a lot easier on both the actors and our crew.”
She has been a part of Theater for four years now, and she’s stage managed for all four. Her favorite part about being a stage manager has been “being backstage, we get to deal with all the actors and the set, just making sure everything’s running smoothly. Thats basically what I do back there.”
