“Ranked, the musical” is the first live musical in two years
February 22, 2022
“Ranked, the musical” will be performed at Palatine High School from Feb. 23 to the 26, starting at 7 PM with tickets costing $7 for students and $10 for adults, except on Wednesday where tickets will cost $5 for students.
Due to COVID, it has been a long time since students were allowed to work on stage and perform a live, traditional musical- in fact, it’s been 2 years since the last Musical, Shrek, was performed.
“It’s been a long couple of years since we did the last one,” Head Director Judy Klinger said. “It’s so hard to direct and make a difference online, so it’s really great to be in person again.”
Since it’s been so long since the last musical, a lot of work has been put into this musical from all members of the crew.
“We started auditioning back in November,” Klinger said. “We’ve been working five days a week since January, even adding on Saturdays to make sure that we’re ready.”
Ranked is a musical following a dystopian school in which students are ranked based on their grades, students with the best grades are granted more privileges while the rest are given nothing.
“It’s a story about a high school where your class rank is all that matters, so it’s very cutthroat about grades,” Klinger said. “Since it’s about high school kids, I think kids will relate to it more.”
Many of the cast members wear masks since they’re so close while singing and dancing, which can present some new challenges.
“Wearing masks when you’re singing and dancing is harder and you have to do heavier work to be heard,” Klinger said. “But they’re all rising to the challenge.”
Ranked is shaping up to be a return to traditional musicals at Palatine High School after a brief hiatus due to COVID.
“My favorite part about working on this musical is that we get to do a musical in the first place,” Klinger said. “And I think we’re making a huge difference for students who are new to theater.”
Ranked is at Palatine High School from Feb. 23 to Feb. 26 at 7pm. Tickets can be purchased at the school.
