‘High School Musical’ show a family affair for WCHS

By Lethbridge Herald on December 11, 2025.

Joe Manio
Lethbridge Herald
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

Winston Churchill High School (WCHS) students performing in a musical about the lives of high school students, so it shouldn’t be a stretch for them to get into character. However, this isn’t just any musical but the stage version of Disney’s massively successful High School Musical (HSM).

HSM is a beloved franchise because of its large cast, catchy songs, and relatable themes of school cliques, jock culture, academic challenges, first love, and finding your voice, making it an ideal and popular energetic show for middle schools, high schools and community theatres to stage.

Starting tonight at the University of Lethbridge Theatre, the curtain goes up on the WCHS production of HSM.

The cast ranges in age from first- to fourth-year students and many of the fourth-year performers started performing back in middle school. Some have up to nine performances already under their belts.

That experience came in handy because HSM started production under-the-gun thanks to the Alberta teachers strike. Despite losing 17 days of preparation the student performers buckled-down and are ready to “break a leg” (give their best performance) on opening night. 

“We’re definitely going to be a photo finish…the strike was not helpful,” says director and WCHS drama teacher Avery Rex. “But we’re making do and the kids are pulling together. I’m really proud of them.”

Among the 120 student cast members are two sets of siblings who are also cousins…brothers Porter and Rigby Forsyth and sisters Zoe and Mary Forsyth. 

Eighteen-year-old Porter plays the role of Chad Danforth and 15-year-old Rigby plays the part of Ryan Evans.

In one of the last musical numbers, “Bop to the Top” Rigby performs lead with cousin Zoe who plays Sharpay Evans, Ryan Evans’ fraternal twin sister and the main antagonist in HSM.

“I’ve always wanted to play a role like this, where I kind of get to be not exactly the good guy, per se,” says Forsyth who is in her fourth year at WCHS. “And be able to reach out, be really sassy…it’s really fun to play.”

A theatre group itself is often called a “theatrical family” and the WCHS HSM group is no exception, especially because there are more family connections behind the scenes. 

“We have cousins and siblings, graduating siblings and Grade 9 siblings…we even have related (stage) crew,” says Avery Rex.

Rex and the students say that audiences can expect a flashy and high-energy production of kids being kids putting everything they have into a production full of relatable universal adolescent themes.

“The audience can expect flashy numbers, a story about finding first love, fitting in and trying to step outside of a box that you’ve backed yourself into and drawn around yourself.”

HSM is one of Disney’s most successful franchises, breaking viewership records, generating massive profits from music and merchandise, and launching the careers of major stars Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens and Olivia Rodrigo. 

It became a cultural phenomenon that defined a generation with the original movie alone earning billions in profit and sales across various media.

Performance dates and times for HSM are Thursday, Dec. 11 at 7 p.m. and Friday, Dec. 12 at 7 PM and.

Saturday, Dec. 13 at 5 PM. Tickets are at the U of L box office.