“Wild cats everywhere,

Wave your hands up in the air,

That's the way we do it,

Let’s get to it,

Time to show the world!”

On Friday night, close to 80 Columbia and Barnard undergraduates embarked on a 24-hour journey to rehearse songs and choreography before hitting the Glicker-Milstein Theatre stage Saturday night at 8 p.m. This year’s 24-hour triumph tackled High School Musical, one of the most notorious and well-known movies of the 2000s.

The show was put on by the Columbia Musical Theatre Society, and with only one five-hour sleep break in the middle, the group worked tirelessly to put on a full-length production.

“We chose High School Musical, because everyone knows it and has similar knowledge of the show,” producer Jessica Campbell, BC ’19, said. “It’s a pop culture phenomenon for people our age.”

Director Alexandra Haddad, BC ’21, was excited to take on the second annual 24-hour musical after acting as assistant director for last year’s performance.

In all, 60 actors took the stage Saturday night for what can best be described as your typical third-grade play on steroids. Students with varying levels of theatrical experience and representing the four undergraduate colleges auditioned to form a cast that would make even Ms. Darbus proud.

As the lights dimmed in the house, the audience’s chatter settled to a hum of anticipation. The performance had sold out almost instantly to friends and family of the cast who seemed eager to witness the culmination of a day’s work. The three walls surrounding the stage were decorated with cardboard paper fliers sporting a variety of peppy proclamations like “Go Team!” and “Go Wildcats!” Centered on the back wall was a large printout photo of the lead, Troy Bolton, played by Ethan Woo, CC ’20.

From the first line it was clear that every one of the 60 cast members had gotten their head in the game and were ready to put all their remaining energy into the performance. Despite a number of forgotten lines, mistimed entrances, and staggered choreography, the cast plugged along unphased.

There seemed to be an unspoken agreement between cast and audience to just go with whatever mishaps might occur. In essence, the show carried a “show must go on” attitude throughout. The casual and low-budget nature of the performance paired with the excitement from each cast member transferred to the audience. The giggles at each misstep were outnumbered by the cheers and applauses with each success.

This was an impressive performance that even included a live band who had been given sheet music just a few hours earlier. Along with over-the-top duets like Sharpay, Chelsea Jean-Michel, CC ’19, and Ryan’s, Mitchell Thomas, SEAS ’22, rendition of “What I’ve Been Looking For,” choreographers Annette Stonebarger, BC ’21 and Carolyn Friedman, CC ’21, designed many of the iconic ensemble numbers like “Stick to the Status Quo.” These high-energy numbers were contrasted by emotional ballads like Gabriella’s, Meghan Shah, BC ’20, performance of “When There Was Me and You.”

Campbell emphasized the need to focus on the process throughout the experience.

“I really think we do a good job of having an anxiety- and stress-free experience. We just want people to have fun. When I’m hearing people laughing, it makes me feel like my job is done,” she said.

By embracing the nature of the process, each member of the cast and crew for this year’s 24-hour musical allowed themselves to fully invest in the production. And, in the end, they proved that there was truly no star in heaven out of reach.