BRUNSWICK – The Maine State Music Theatre in collaboration with Brunswick High School will hold auditions Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 7-8, for its summer production of Disney’s “High School Musical.”

Auditions for teen talent, from any area high schools, will be held at the MSMT administration building on Elm Street. The theater is looking for up to two dozen high-school boys and girls who can sing and dance and who want to be on stage with professional Actors’ Equity Union performers.

Interested teens should prepare to sing a pop-style song with sheet music for piano accompaniment or may bring an accompaniment recording if preferred. Also, those auditioning should expect to perform dance combinations to be taught on sight during the audition process and may be asked to read lines from the script.

The show will open Aug. 25 and run through Sept. 13 at Brunswick High School’s Crooker Theater.

“High School Musical” will be performed in addition to the theater’s four mainstage musical productions to be presented in the summer of 2009.

For more information or to schedule an audition, contact MSMT Company Manager Kathi Kacinski at (207) 725-8760, ext. 11; or e-mail jobs@msmt.org. Audition information and updates may also be obtained online at www.msmt.org.

“Disney’s High School Musical” was released as an original film in 2006 on The Disney Channel and quickly became a phenomenon with younger viewers. That success has lead to two sequels with a third being developed, as well as a staged musical version and an incarnation performed on ice.

The story of two students from different cliques auditioning and being cast in a school’s winter musical has resonated with teens across the country because of its messages promoting inclusion, dealing with peer pressure and breaking down high-school stereotypes.

The most recent installment, “High School Musical 3: Senior Year,” was released in October as a feature film.

Theater’s summer lineup

This summer will mark MSMT’s 51st season of professional musical theater presented at the Pickard Theater on the campus of Bowdoin College. The regular season of musicals will open June 3 with a production of the Tony Award-winning musical “The Light in the Piazza,” written by the grandson of famed Broadway talent Richard Rogers of Rogers and Hammerstein fame.

Also in the season line-up is the Gershwin extravaganza, “Crazy for You,” with almost two dozen favorite Gershwin classic tunes; the musical version of the popular feature film “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels;” and another Tony Award-winning contemporary musical, “The Drowsy Chaperone,” a comedic musical that reflects on the golden days of old Broadway.

Season tickets for the regular season are on sale now by calling the MSMT box office at (207) 725-8769. Tickets to “High School Musical” will go on sale first to season subscribers and will be available to the general public, along with single tickets to all MSMT’s shows, beginning April 29.

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