Rock Ridge Performing Arts “Brings It On” With the Spring Musical

The ninth season of RRPA closes with the musical “Bring It On.” The musical’s cast showcased their performance on eight different nights from May 5 to May 13.

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Karis Adnan

“Bring It On” has been a great experience for many. For sophomore Tom Soricelli, who plays Steven, it was the first show that he’s acted in. “I’ve never done anything like this, but it is exciting,” Soricelli said.

From May 5-13, RRPA performed their spring musical, “Bring It On.” The show follows Campbell (senior Julia Freeman) as she gets redistricted to a different school, crushing her dreams of being the captain of the Truman High School cheerleading squad. At Campbell’s new school, Jackson High School, she meets Danielle (senior D’Amora Brunson) who leads Jackson’s dance crew. “Bring It On” features teenage drama, unexpected betrayal, and energetic dancing. 

While many people in the cast and crew have been in previous RRPA shows and other productions, “Bring It On” was the first for many. Freshman Marian Lindsey, who plays Nautica, was in Stone Hill Middle School’s play last year, but “Bring It On” was her first musical at Rock Ridge. “I love [‘Bring It On’] as my first show, it gets me excited for things that are coming soon in the future,” Lindsey said.

“Bring It On” wasn’t senior Nat Bodman’s first show with RRPA; however, it is his first year with the organization. Bodman joined RRPA tech crew after touring the “Xanadu” set, their winter musical last year. “Last year, I took a tour of the stage during ‘Xanadu,’ I saw everything they were building and doing and that’s my passion, so I decided this is what I want to do,” Bodman said. “It’s kind of sad. I wish I was in RRPA longer.”

Junior Bradley Schraa agrees with Bodman, wishing he had joined RRPA earlier too. This is also Schraa’s first year with the program, although he was cast as one of the leads for “Big Fish,” the musical performed earlier in the year. Although it was tough, Schraa enjoyed working on “Bring It On” because it was a rewarding experience. “[‘Bring It On’] is just a lot of hip-hop and choreography after school and before school,” Schraa said. “It was a hard process to get everything together, but overall, it’s coming out good.” 

While the musical is doing well, with the show getting a standing ovation on opening night, it is also bittersweet. “Bring It On” was the last time the seniors were able to perform on RRPA’s stage. “I’m glad that I get to be with the seniors that are graduating this year, [because] I have close relationships with a lot of them, and I’m glad that I get to be on stage with some of them,” Soricelli said.

Since “Bring it On” was the last show of the 2022-2023 school year, freshman Angel Labosette, who plays La Cienega, believed that this musical was a great closure to the year. “I feel like it was the perfect show to close out on because it’s such a fun, intricate, funny show, so I’m really glad that we got to do it,” Labosette said.