Drama club presents ‘Mean Girls Jr.’
PHIL CAMPBELL – The recently reformed PCHS drama program started rehearsals in late November 2024 to get ready for the school’s first Broadway musical.
While the show’s director, Jonathan Grimes, said all but one of the cast of around 30 students are first-time actors for a production of this scale, he said their enthusiasm, hard work and growth have been a “privilege” to see unfold.
“I’ve been a part of many shows as an actor,” Grimes said, “including recently portraying Uncle Fester in ‘The Addams Family’ at the Shoals Theatre in Florence. So, I’m inspired in part by my own experiences and also by the encouragement of our principal, Bart Moss, who has been to a lot of Broadway musicals in New York. However, this is my first time to direct a show.”
Grimes said Moss approached him with the idea of starting a drama club. Grimes explained the school had a drama program previously, but it was more along the lines of upperclassmen performing a senior play. The school has never attempted anything on the scale of a Broadway musical, even a junior one.
“We opened this show up to seventh through 12th grade (students),” Grimes said, “so there’s a wide range, but while we have enough guys to do this show, we could use more in the club for future productions.”
Moss said he’s “really proud” of the initiative being taken to start the drama program for students.
“This is Mr. Grimes’ passion,” he said. “He loves Broadway-type plays, and he’s acted in several. He brings a wealth of experience to our students.
“I am extremely proud of our students who have stepped up to do this musical. It takes a lot of courage and confidence to put yourself out there to do a Broadway show, especially four shows in three days.”
Moss said he fully supports the arts at PCHS.
“I attended my first Broadway show in New York about 13 years ago — ‘Les Misérables’ — and fell in love. I’ve seen about 25 since, including shows like “Hamilton,” “Jersey Boys” and “MJ,” he continued. “I hope the bug catches with these kids and they develop a lifelong love of the arts. Maybe one day we can have someone make it on Broadway. That would be awesome!”
AUDIENCE WORTHY
Grimes said watching the students make progress “throughout this whole experience” has been a “real good teambuilding thing,” noting he’s seen some of the students “take initiative and lead the others into what they need to do.”
“It’s been a great experience all around,” he added. “We had a cast party at Christmas, and we had a lot of fun together. This experience has really brought them together and they are a family now.”
Grimes explained the students were told they couldn’t learn the choreography for the bows for the curtain call until they got to the point where he felt they had a quality audience-worthy production. When they finally got to learn them, their enthusiasm was obvious.
“When they got to that point, they were all energy, and the energy just exploded when they got to learn the bows. I told them to hold on to that energy and keep it going forward,” Grimes said. “I told them that what we had was good, good enough to show an audience, but to keep pushing to improve because it can always be better.”
BEYOND THE STAGE
“They’re not just learning how to act,” Grimes said of the club members. “They’re learning other skills they can use in their daily life, including increased confidence and better skills with public speaking. That can help with things like job interviews. If they can get out and perform in front of an audience, they can go to job interviews.”
Grimes initially wanted the students to perform “Rock of Ages,” but he said they came to him explaining they had other ideas.
The students wanted to perform “Mean Girls,” but Grimes said they would have to raise the money, around $1,500, to pay for the rights to do the show, which would have to be the junior version because of content.
“They rose to the challenge,” Grimes said. “There was also some grant money, and my wife, Ashley Grimes, worked on that end of things.”
The hope, Grimes said, is to also have a senior play each year, in addition to a fall show and a spring show.
SHOW DETAILS
The drama club will perform “Mean Girls Jr.” Feb. 27-28 and March 1 at 7 p.m. in the Lou B. Bevill Center on the Phil Campbell campus of Northwest Shoals Community College.
Tickets are $10 and can be purchased at Gofan. com, or by contacting pchsdramadepartment@gmail.com.
Jonathan Grimes is the director. Daniel Taylor and Ashley Grimes are assistant directors. Set and prop designers include Matt McDuffa and Laura McDuffa.
