High school theater is the real youth culture in America.
Forget all those TV shows, movies, and CDs that claim to be the youth culture. They're not. They're made by 35-year-olds still pretending to be teenagers. The genuine article — the true "American Idols" — are all around you, on Thursdays through Sundays from late October into early December, in shows performed, teched, and often adapted, staged, and co-directed by actual teenagers.
Here's a money-back guarantee: (It's usually six or seven bucks a ticket, 50 cents for cookies at intermission, so we're not talking major cash here.) If you go to a high school show, you'll be totally delighted. Today's high school shows are way better to those of 10, 20, 40 years ago. The direction is crisper, the sound and light tech is far superior, and many in the cast will have had extensive voice, dance, or acting training. And some of that old "That's Entertainment" MGM-Busby Berkeley bigness is on the way back, with these kids.
In a way, it's even more fun if you don't know anyone in the cast. And by all means, bring the whole family. Give your smaller kids a taste of good theater. Invite grandma and grandpa to see a new take on an old standard. And it's usually somewhere between a "G" and, oh, maybe a PG-11.
The best half hour of a high school musical is better than the best half hour of most professional shows. No, they don't act or sing as well as you'll see or hear at the Kennedy Center (though some get pretty close). What these kids do may not be technically better, but it's tons more fun. When a cast and crew put it all together, there's nothing more fresh, more charming, more watchable.
Go see a Cappies show, when the student critics come, usually two or three dozen. Cappies shows are becoming the theater equivalent of football's "homecoming," with big, enthusiastic crowds, and extra excitement on and offstage, because Cappies night is when everyone knows reviews and awards are on the line.
We have 48 schools in the Cappies this year, mostly in Virginia, but also in D.C. and Maryland. Last year's Cappies Gala was a colossal event, at the sold-out Concert Hall of the Kennedy Center. (You might have seen the three-hour Tonys-style Gala broadcast, during the summer, on a local cable channel.) Last year, Westfield and McLean won top honors, for their musical and play, and 21 schools won at least one Cappie.
This year, who knows? The Cappie awards are decided by student critics, who vote on them after our last show in mid-May. Maybe the show you'll see will be the one to win top honors. And maybe some of the cast are stars-in-the-making. This past July, we took a number of our Cappies honorees to Hollywood, where they joined with Cappies winners from other parts of the U.S. to workshop three musicals on Hollywood Boulevard.
What we're doing here, in the national capital area, has become a model for high school theater across America. In the coming year, we expect to see Cappies programs up and running in Cincinnati, Dallas, Eugene, Ft. Lauderdale, Kansas City, Long Island, and a number of other places.
Today's teenagers are the next great theater generation. This fall, see one of their shows. But I warn you: It can be addictive. See one, and you'll want to see more.