Are you curious about the 2025 high school musical for Manville? This year, so are we! The directors of the MHS drama club have not one, but two shows this year for the students to audition for! Sweeney Todd and All Shook Up are the two shows that have been decided for this year’s musical, and only one will be determined at the end of auditions on Tuesday.
Sweeney Todd is a horror shop musical, which tells the story of a mad-man who seeks revenge while murdering patients that come to his barber shop. His love interest and partner in crime, Ms. Lovett, disposes of the bodies of Mr. Todd’s patients by baking them into meat-pies which she later sells to the public in her shop. Main characters include Sweeney Todd, Ms. Lovett, Johanna Barker, Judge Turpin, Anthony Hope, and The Beggar Woman/Lucy Barker.
Compared to the first option, All Shook Up has a completely different theme. Where all of the music is Elvis Presley themed, the whole point of the show is that everyone is in love with someone, sort of like a love hexagon. Main characters include Chad, Natalie, Dennis, Sylvia, Lorraine, Miss Sandra, Dean, Jim, Mayor Matilda Hyde, and Sheriff Earl.
“I prefer Sweeney Todd over All Shook Up highly because of the deepness of the stories,” says Rian Sanders, one of the MHS Drama club students. “Sweeney Todd is a character with many layers and overall a sophisticated character because of his implied dark background, while Chad from All Shook Up seems more like a shallow character, and, at face value, suspiciously appears as an Elvis impersonator. I personally hope for Sweeney Todd, where I can dig into my own mind and background to get myself lost as somebody else.”
In the perspective of another person, Jessica Luna thinks otherwise of the show waiting to be chosen:
“I believe that All Shook Up is a superior play compared to Sweeney Todd. While Sweeney Todd may have a more complex plot, All Shook Up is funny, witty, and romantic, all while having the ability to captivate an audience of all ages. The story’s theme of love, self-discovery and breaking societal norms are presented in such a way that is both uplifting and empowering, unlike the darker tones of Sweeney Todd, which may not resonate as positively with a younger or family oriented audience. All Shook up is clearly made for Manville High School.”
Picking two shows adds more suspense and even more pressure for the students when auditioning, although, whatever the outcome may be, everyone is excited to find out who will take part in the main roles and what the show will overall look like. Will it be about a mystery killer or about a complicated love story? Will it be spooky and dark or funny and jolly? This is all to be undetermined until next week.