The drama program challenged themselves to produce and perform a musical within the span of 24 hours. Students recently counted down the hours for their annual 24 hour musical on March 1, 2026.

The 24 hour musical is a fundraiser that helps fund the drama department, and their future performances. 

“It usually ranks in quite a bit of money because it is a fundraiser and we don’t really spend anything on it,” said Liam Herd (12). 

This San Juan Hills tradition has been going on since last year when the theater department performed their first ever 24 hour musical, The Adams Family. 

This year, drama teacher Cambria Graff and a select few of trusting students such as Liam Herd, Ava Schumacher, and Olivia Alpert (12) came to the verdict of what the musical should be.

The musical can’t be named due to licensing regulations, but it featured a lot of dancing and poodle skirts.  

However, the musical follows high school students as they navigate through social norms, peer pressure, and their desire to fit into the teenage social hierarchy. Featuring a complicated relationship between the leader of the T-Brids, Danny Zuko and the new girl at Rydell High, Sandy Olsson. 

These two leads were played by none other than Jackson Thurman and Molly McCabe (12). 

Before the show date, all details about the musical are under wraps. Including which musical they’re performing, costumes, roles, etc. Only a select few have the privilege to be included in the decisions and conversions about the elements of the top secret musical. 

Everyone has the opportunity to participate in this student run musical. Auditions aren’t required and students find out their roles within a day before the actual show, with very little time to prepare. 

“It’s not the 24 hour musical without people making mistakes, that’s the best part,” said Brynn Thiret (12). 

Mistakes are welcomed and encouraged. They help challenge students to perform their best in a short period of time without being affected too much by the pressure to perform. 

Every second of rehearsal is used for cast members to learn lines, choreography, blocking, and all the other aspects needed to put on a show. Within this time, costumes and set design are both created and reused from past performances. 

Much of the choreography was created and taught by Olivia Albert (12), who helped lead the cast through the routines within the swift hours before the show. While actors are learning choreography, Gianna Petiti (11) and other creative students worked on building sets. 

As this is happening, other members of the theater council set an example for the newbies by displaying leadership qualities on and off stage. 

“It’s very exciting knowing the possibilities of being able to try new things but it’s also stressful knowing I’m going into something I’ve never done before” said Will Fleming (12). 

This musical can be stressful for some, however the pressure is lifted after the crew is exposed to the end result of their hard work. This show is meant to be fun and to fund raise future equipment, the tenuous work that comes with it is just a small obstacle. 

A whirlwind of emotions and collaboration were all swirled together in the span of 24 hours to produce this musical, in order to fund raise the future of the drama program. 

For more information about our theater program click this link.