BY ISABELLA BEELER

Recently, Pioneer Ridge Middle School presented “Something Rotten Jr.” It is a musical about two brothers creating the first ever musical. It is funny and entertaining. The cast did really well interpreting it. My brother was in it, and I watched all three performances. The cast is going to go to Truman soon, and I think we are in good hands.

The main cast of this school musical is Owen Crowe as Nick Bottom, Kera Read as Nigel Bottom, Bella Bock as Bea, Nova Williams as Portia, Giovanna Mann-Lashley as Shakespeare, Mae Murray as Nancy Notrodaumas, Emmy Jones as Brother Jerimiah, Chloe Carr as Shylock, Zack Muggy as Lord Clapham, and Violet Stalsworth. There were many others in the cast too. It was directed by Jaggard Williams. A lot of others were a part of the musical as well. They did a good job. My favorite characters were Notrodaumas and Nigel. They were both funny and the actors did well at portraying it.

Since it is a musical, there is a lot of singing and dancing. My favorite number is “A Musical” sung by Notrodaumas/Mae and Nick/Owen. It is funny and references a lot of other musicals. I also like the dances done by the ensemble. Caleb Beeler is part of the ensemble, but also is the dance captain. He did a great job leading the cast through the dances. I also liked the numbers “It’s Eggs” and “Will Power”. The whole entire cast showed off their great singing voices and acting skills.

School musicals should be advertised better because a lot of people don’t know about them. A lot of friends and family of the cast members come to see the show, but more people should be able to come as well. The cast and crew work hard and spend long hours rehearsing. High schoolers should support the middle schoolers. Watching school musicals is also just something fun to do. Instead of just having the cast invite people, there should be posters at all of the Independence schools and posted about more on social media.

Overall, PRMS’s School Musical was great. I enjoyed the play and the cast did amazing. Soon they will be performing in our school’s musicals. We should support them by watching their shows. They will do great. I’m excited to maybe see them.