‘High School Musical’ at SALT features three distinct casts

Remember high school cheerleaders with their short skirts and ponytails? Many of us wished we could have been like them.

In Chester Springs, a group of “middle-aged moms,” as SALT (Salt and Light Theatre) president Lauren McComas describes them, will get a shot at cheerleading in a production of the Broadway hit, High School Musical.

There will be three casts for the show, and here’s why:

SALT’s High School Musical has a teenage cast of cheerleaders, jocks, nerds, and skaters, plus a few adults who play teachers.

Then the adults hanging around, including parents, got jealous of the fun. They began to think “‘Wouldn’t it be great if the adults got to live out their high school dreams in the play?’” McComas said.

So, SALT developed a second cast, with adults playing all the roles. “All the MOMS whose teenagers are performers … who have never performed before, are going to play the cheerleaders,” McComas said.

There’s also a third cast. A production starring members of Acting Antics, based in Broomall. Acting Antics offers a music and theater program for people with “a diagnosis on the autism spectrum or with other deficits in social understanding,” according to its website.

“We provide them the venue, with the costumes, the lights, the set, the microphones, and all the bells and whistles,” McComas said. “Members from the traditional cast are going to perform alongside with [the Acting Antics] cast … They play the main parts, and we fill in gaps in the ensemble.”

All proceeds from the Acting Antics performances will benefit the organization.

(Feb. 10-March 5, “High School Musical,” traditional cast, Feb. 10-19; all-adult cast, Feb. 24-26; Acting Antics cast, March 3-5. SALT Performing Arts, 1645 Art School Rd., Chester Springs, 610-488-2585 or saltpa.com)

Fans of ‘80s rock know that “Heaven is a Place on Earth.” That place might be Norristown, where Theatre Horizon will present the regional premier of Head Over Heels, featuring a roster of favorites from the Go-Go’s. This adaptation of The Arcadia, written by Sir Philip Sidney circa 1580, was conceived as Head Over Heels by Jeff Whitty and revamped by James Magruder, visiting assistant professor at Swarthmore.

An oracle prophesies that the kingdom of Arcadia will soon lose its Beat — the magical force that brings prosperity and peace, unless … The unless is a queer renaissance fair fairy tale delivered as a celebration with a cast of talented local musicians/actors directed by Rebecca Wright.

(Feb. 8-March 12, “Head Over Heels,” Theatre Horizon, 401 DeKalb St., Norristown, or 610-283-2230 or theatrehorizon.org)

In a timely production, Lantern Theater Co. explores the relationship of facts and truth in The Lifespan of a Fact.

In 2002, a 16-year-old boy jumped to his death from the roof of Las Vegas’ Stratosphere Hotel. In 2003, Harper’s Magazine commissioned essayist John D’Agata to write a piece exploring the intersection of suicide and the tourist culture of Las Vegas but ultimately declined to publish it.

D’Agata’s essay, “What Happens Here,” finally appeared in The Believer in 2010.

His intense collaboration with professional fact-checker Jim Fingal forms the basis of the book, The Lifespan of a Fact, which has been adapted into this play.

(Through March 5, “The Lifespan of a Fact,” Lantern Theater Co., St. Stephen’s Theater, 923 Ludlow St., Phila. 215-829-0395 or lanterntheater.org)

Hedgerow Theatre Co. kicks off its 100th season with Ngozi Anyanwu’s Good Grief. Set in the Philly suburbs between 1992 and 2005, Good Grief explores the devastating impact of sudden loss. The lead character, Nkechi, is a first-generation Nigerian American played by Morgan Charéce Hall. Co-directors Zuhairah McGill and Phillip Brown also act in the play.

(Feb. 8-26, “Good Grief,” Hedgerow Theatre Co., 64 Rose Valley Rd., Media. 610-565-4211 or hedgerowtheatre.org)

Casey’s barely making it as an Elvis impersonator when he sees a brighter future as a lip-synching drag queen. It’s all a lot of fun in The Legend of Georgia McBride at the South Camden Theatre Co.

(Feb. 10-26, “The Legend of Georgia McBride,” South Camden Theatre Co., Waterfront South Theatre, 400 Jasper St., Camden. 856-409-0365 or southcamdentheatre.org)

Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical Aspects of Love — the story of the romantic entanglements of an actress, her admiring fan, his uncle, and his uncle’s mistress — runs through Feb. 19 at the Media Theatre. Also, for the kids, Junie B. Jones Jr., the Musical, Feb. 11 through March 5.

(Through Feb. 19, “Aspects of Love.” Feb. 11-March 5, “Junie B. Jones Jr., the Musical,” Media Theatre, 104 E. State St., Media, 610-891-0100 or mediatheatre.org)

Just in time for Valentine’s Day, a blind date that doesn’t turn out quite as expected. The Stagecrafters Theater presents Rebecca Gilman’s thriller, Boy Gets Girl.

(Feb. 10-26, “Boy Gets Girl,” Stagecrafters Theater, 8130 Germantown Ave., Phila. 215-247-9913 or thestagecrafters.org)

It’s Manhattan in the roaring twenties and two lovers, Queenie and Burrs, want to throw a party that will end all parties. It starts out fabulous but gets dirty as drinks flow. Who will clean up the mess? Eagle Theatre presents The Wild Party, with book, music, and lyrics by Andrew Lippa.

(Feb. 9-26, “The Wild Party,” Eagle Theatre, 208 Vine St., Hammonton, N.J., 609-704-5012 or eagletheatre.org)

Food and fun are on the menu for Tiny Dynamite’s annual Valentine’s Day celebration at the historic Powel House. Theater, music, poetry, and tweets come with pizza and a drink for evening shows, and tea and scones for an afternoon performance.

(Feb. 11-14, “Valentine’s Day,” Tiny Dynamite, Powel House, 244 S. 3rd St., Phila. 215-399-0088 or tinydynamite.org)

Check with individual venues for COVID-19 protocols.