What better way to end the summer than to spend it rocking out and having fun? That’s what Mitchie and her friends hope to do when they arrive at Camp Rock. Things don’t work out quite as planned, though, and with Camp Rock’s very existence threatened, Mitchie must rally her fellow Camp Rockers to meet the challenge.
Find out how they do it when Scottsdale’s Desert Stages Theatre presents Disney’s “Camp Rock the Musical” Friday, Aug. 19 through Sunday, Sept. 18. The show is based on the hit Disney Channel movies “Camp Rock” and “Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam,” starring Demi Lovato and the Jonas Brothers.
With book by Robert L. Freedman and Faye Greenberg, and music adapted, arranged, orchestrated and produced by David Lawrence, “Camp Rock” includes such catchy songs as “We Rock,” “Can’t Back Down,” “It’s On” and “This is Me.”
“This has been a really fun, high-energy show to work on,” says director Lisa Barton Figueroa. “It features upbeat musical numbers, and many of the songs we know and love from the movies.”
“Camp Rock” is appropriate for all ages, she adds.
The musical has quite a few roles and a large ensemble cast. The show uses an “early” cast, performing on Friday evenings and Saturday matinees, and a “late” cast, performing on Saturday evenings and Sunday matinees. Some of the parts have been double cast, which Barton Figueroa says “allows for more actors to get the opportunity to play parts and to grow as performers.”
Early cast members sharing the part of the smart, talented and outspoken Mitchie are Paige Corbin and Bridget Rhee. Late cast members playing Mitchie are Cate Carlino and Peyton Woolf.
A 17-year-old senior at Scottsdale’s Saguaro High School, Paige recently appeared as Florinda and Sleeping Beauty in “Into the Woods” for Desert Stages. Bridget is a 14-year-old freshman at Pinnacle High School.
Cate, 17, attends Arcadia High School in Phoenix. She previously played Kylar in Spotlight Youth Theatre’s “Bring It On the Musical.” Peyton, 16, attends North Phoenix Preparatory Academy. Previous roles include Tiger Lily in “Peter Pan,” Alice in Gerry Cullity’s “Alice in Wonderland” and Elle in “Legally Blonde Jr.” for Desert Stages.
Shane, Mitchie’s love interest and the lead singer of the Connect 3 band, is played by Matthew Villarreal (early cast) and Jared Lara. A senior at Arcadia High School, 17-year-old Matthew has appeared as the Mad Hatter in Gerry Cullity’s “Alice in Wonderland” and as Cinderella’s Prince in “Into the Woods,” both for Desert Stages.
Jared is a 15-year-old sophomore at Arcadia High School. Some of his previous roles at Desert Stages include Aladdin in “Aladdin Jr.,” Fagin in “Oliver” and Zeke in Disney’s “High School Musical.”
If you go: Aug. 19-Sept. 18, 7:30 p.m. Fridays; 1, 3 and 7:30 p.m. Saturdays; 1 and 3 p.m. Sundays. Scottsdale Desert Stages Theatre, 4720 N. Scottsdale Road, Scottsdale. $15. 480-483-1664 or desertstages.org.
