Thirty-two of West Michigan’s most talented teenagers will light up the Rockford High School Fine Arts Center as “13 the Musical” bursts onto stage for its Michigan premiere. The cast will feature six local performers: Mitchell Todd, Cash and Raquel Maciel, Carlee Bleeker and Zain Olson, all of East Rockford Middle School.
Tony Award-winning composer Jason Robert Brown’s inspired rock-and-roll score and laugh-out-loud lyrics provide the fuel for a handpicked cast of young performers to tell the coming-of-age story of soon-to-be 13-year-old Evan Goldman, who is uprooted from a magical childhood in Manhattan to land in “the lamest place in the world,” Appleton, Ind. The story navigates through the halls of Dan Quayle Junior High, where the displaced New Yorker tries every trick in the book to win favor with the school in-crowd so they’ll come to his bar mitzvah. In doing so, he is confronted with boneheaded football players, gossiping cheerleaders, fights over hot chicks, and Lucy, the undisputed queen of the school.
With songs like “The Lamest Place in the World,” “Becoming a Man,” “[That Girl is] Bad, Bad News,” and “What It Means to be a Friend,” the production is driven by crisp, original rock numbers, get-up-and-dance R&B, and soulful ballads that explore the gamut of adolescent emotions.
“13 the Musical” will be performed at the Rockford High School Fine Arts Center, 4100 Kroes St., November 4-6, all at 7:30 p.m. This production is best suited for sixth-graders through really old adults that are young at heart. Tickets are $10 and are available online at www.ytgr.org or at the door.
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