This year’s musical,“Ghost,” will be filled with music, romance, and loads of fun! “Ghost’ is based on an unusual love story where many of the characters experience complications in their relationships. Even though in the story some characters come across death, the mood of the play remains hopeful and positive. This year the dates for the musical will be on February 4th, 5th, 6th, and 8th.

This musical focuses on a guy who’s a ghost after being killed. As a ghost, he feels the need to protect his girlfriend and become close enough to be able to tell her how he truly feels. This forces the characters in the story to understand how important it is to communicate what you feel to the people you care about. This year’s musical is being directed by Mr. Schaeffer, the Tech-Theatre teacher at Clements. He’s been here at Clements since January of 2008, and began directing the musicals at Clements with “Crazy for You” in 2009.

There are many funny and fun-filled moments between the crew and actors, but nothing beats the experience of seeing it all come together.

“Performance-wise, my favorite part is probably  watching the actors grasp their role onstage. Even after rehearsing it over and over, is really something special. I get goosebumps from the experience. Getting technical with all the equipment is fun to work with too. They’re like toys almost.” said, Shaeffer.

This year’s musical, “Ghost”, will definitely differ from last years hit musical, “Bye Bye Birdie” in many ways. For one, the plot and storyline is a lot more complicated. There will be multiple ghosts and supernatural characteristics, and it’ll be difficult to reach the audience and help them notice who is a ghost and who isn’t. Overall, the musical is more dynamic, technical and will have much more movement and dancing. One thing does stay the same though, and that’s the amount of time and effort put in to make these musicals succeed. According to Schaeffer and the crew, on average they rehearse and work about four to five hours from Monday to Thursday and three hours on Friday not including the outside work on music and lines to memorize at home. This is mainly during the month of January where the kids work about 19-20 hours a week.

Many students have gained a great experience and many skills through musical. Some have learned new things to incorporate later on and others have used their skills they’ve learned and put them to work.

“Some have had the opportunity to realize what they’ve already learned and put that into practice while the less experienced have learned what it’s like in a rehearsal and performance,” said Schaeffer.

The Clements Theatre Troupe describe“Ghost”as a must-see performance with fun, outstanding music and hardworking students. They urge all to come watch the play.