Entertainment

The Real Shrek Experience

Written by: Clark, Mezzo - Reporter

May 8, 2025

When Was the Musical?

On Friday, March 14 and Saturday, March 15, the PAHS Musical Theater put on a performance of “Shrek the Musical.” Unfortunately, there was an unexpected cancellation on Sunday, March 16 due to bad weather conditions. However, Musical Theater will be having an encore performance on May 11 to make up for the cancellation.

What is Shrek About?

Shrek is a story of a young ogre named and his faithful companion, Donkey. The two go on a quest to find Lord Farquad and demand him to rehome the fairy tale creatures that were banished onto Shrek’s swamp. Once they arrive at Duloc, they are sent on another trip to rescue Princess Fiona from her tower. 

Shrek and Fiona appear to be very annoyed with one another. However, they grow fond of their unique differences and strange similarities. During their quest, Shrek ends up falling head over heels for Fiona. Can a beautiful, mature princess love an ogre? A smelly, green ogre? It’s an extraordinary thing to think about. 

Deciding on the Musical

Choosing this year's musical performance was a tricky decision. With only two males in the class and a small number of females, the club needed to find a musical that would fit both their audience's interests and suit their cast and crew’s size.

Shrek was eventually decided upon by the Musical Theater class. The rights then had to be purchased to be able to perform the musical without any copyright infringement. They also had to go over their current balance, how much tickets should be and what sort of fundraising they may do to be able to purchase supplies for the show.

Casting

A very important part of a musical is the casting. Who will fit the role is decided on not just by looks, but by experience, seniority, and many other factors. The class and club casting is based significantly on seniority. 

When auditioning for a role, you are given a part or parts to look over to perform and you may be asked to do some choreography with your audition. The bigger the role, the more you will most likely have to perform at your audition.

Cast and Crew Opinions

The musical performance was a popular hit amongst the audience, but the opinions of the cast and crew are also an important factor. It can be gathered that the musical was very enjoyable for the producers, cast, crew, and audience.

Jayden Spaid, who played the roles of Mama Ogre and Mama Bears, says, “I enjoyed it a lot. I was really glad that all of my friends were there with me and I made new friends along the way. It was new singing parts by myself, but it gave me a rush of excitement!”

Meanwhile, Ciara Anthony, who was one of the Three Pigs, says, “I loved the musical! It was hard to put it on, but in the end, once we put it all together, it was amazing!”

Last Chance

Is Shrek the Musical an interest to you? Whether it is the funny plot, the fairytale, or the music, if you would like to see this performance, make sure to come to the encore performance in May. You’ll definitely believe in a good time after that!

Sonic the Hedgehog 3

Written by: Shumkaer, Nathalie - Reporter

February 26, 2025

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 came out on December 20th, 2024. This addition to the Super Sonic series brings back the same characters audiences know and love. In this movie, they are celebrating Sonic's anniversary of when he first arrived on Earth. Then, they get a call asking them to help with a rogue hedgehog. His name is Shadow; Shadow is very angry about the accident that took his best friend away from him. He learns that he has traveled 50 years ahead in time and becomes very confused. 

Shadow starts attacking the government equipment because they are trying to capture him. Shadow does intense damage; the government needed a miracle. They know they need to find Team Sonic and beg them for help. Sonic, of course, agrees to help. Team Sonic flies into the fight zone in a helicopter. Sonic and Shadow realize they look identical. Then, the big fight ensues. Team Sonic realizes that they can't do it alone and asks their greatest enemy for help. They gladly agree…on one condition: Sonic must give a quill to Dr. Eggman. 

The two team up to stop Shadow, but Eggman betrays Sonic. Now, Team Sonic must seek out other allies to stop Eggman from succeeding. Even though dark things happen to both the heroes and villains, they live and they learn from these experiences. 

Jim Carrey plays both Gerald and Dr. Eggman. He dedicated a lot of time to making this movie a success–Carrey even shaved his head for the role! Now, the question is, what will the future of these movies look like? 

In an interview, Jim Carrey stated that, if Sega would wanted him to be in Sonic 4, he would gladly do it. This goes against his claim that he would retire after Sonic 2, proving how committed actors can be to their roles. 

Some of the actors have even made special appearances at viewings of Sonic 3 in movie theaters. Colleen O'Shaughnessey, who is the voice actress of Tails, and Lee Majdoub, who plays Agent Stone, were seen at a movie theater and thanked everyone for showing up to see the movie. 

That is not the only appearance, though. Tom, Maddy, and Sonic made a little video to thank the Sonic fans in PA. When I watched the movie, they played the video first, thanking everyone for coming to watch the movie so close to Christmas. They also wished everyone a happy holiday and hoped everyone would enjoy the movie. 

Sonic the Hedgehog 4 is set to release early in 2027. Until then, we will have to wait and see what Sega and Paramount are going to do!

Sonic DC Crossover

Written by: Shumkaer, Nathalie - Reporter

February 26, 2025

No one really expected that DC and Sonic the Hedgehog would have a crossover coming this year. The news was released on September 21st, 2024. Sega and DC comics are teaming up. The first comic release will be on March 19, 2025. But which Sonic character will be which DC character? Sega and DC released this information on September 21st. 

Sonic the Hedgehog as The Flash

Shadow the Hedgehog as Batman

Tails Miles Prower as Cyborg

Knuckles the Echidna as Superman

Amy Rose as Wonder Woman

Silver the Hedgehog as The Green Lantern

There is not only going to be comics from this collaboration but also some merch with the characters on it. This is a collaboration that has been long anticipated, but very surprising. Fans are left wondering what is going to happen. We will just have to wait and see!

Wickedly Wonderful: A Review of Wicked Part 1

Written by: Drozd, Ava - Reporter

December 9, 2024

On November 22nd, Part 1 of the movie adaptation of the Broadway stage musical Wicked was released.

Wicked not only defied gravity but also defied expectations. As someone who has seen both the stage musical of Wicked and the movie version, I can say it was depicted in a “wickedly beautiful” way and, dare I say, the best movie musical of all time.

When creating a movie adaptation of an iconic Broadway musical, it risks “ruining” it for the fans by straying too far from the original or remaking it to be too “modern.” Oftentimes, they fall flat. But the director of Wicked, Jon M. Chu, successfully stayed true to the original, making it a necessity to watch.

The story of Wicked is the precursor to the movie The Wizard of Oz and tells the intricate backstories of the Wicked Witch of the West, Elphaba (played by Cynthia Erivo), and The Good Witch, Glinda (played by Ariana Grande). The movie opens in Munchkinland, where they have just received the news of the Wicked Witch’s passing. They break out into an ensemble of celebration, singing “No One Mourns the Wicked.” Glinda then comes floating down in her iconic bubble, addressing the situation to all of Munchkinland. She is asked about her friendship with the Wicked Witch, which triggers a flashback of Elphaba and Glinda’s time while attending “Shiz University,” a magical, fairytale college.

The movie explores the strength of friendship between two polar opposites: Elphaba, who is misunderstood, highly intelligent, determined, and outcast for her green skin (though her differences are put to use at Shiz University), and Glinda, the popular socialite who is very bubbly, spoiled, and used to always getting what she wants. Their differences cause them to be rivals at first, but eventually sparks an unlikely friendship as they realize they have more in common than they thought.

Erivo’s performance of Elphaba was truly chilling. Erivo stepped up and showed us she was the perfect pick for this role. Erivo is one of only two Black women to play the role of Elphaba. Elphaba being played by a Black woman in one of Wicked’s most viewed performances allows relatability to the character. Essentially, Elphaba’s character is based on experiences of racism, and Erivo was able to relate to her character in that way. “There's something that I have that many other Elphabas don’t have—they don’t know what it is like to walk through the world like this. I do.”

Erivo also has been awarded many accolades throughout her career, including a Tony Award for Lead Actress in a Musical, an Emmy Award for Lead Actress in a Series, and three Grammy Awards. In Wicked, Erivo performed what I would call Oscar-worthy. If she won an Oscar, she would accomplish the title of an EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony) winner, which only 16 celebrities have accomplished.

Grande’s performance of Glinda was quite astonishing. Her portrayal of the ever-so-bubbly Glinda showed how she’s worthy of more than “just a pop star.” Grande’s talented high-pitched singing voice was perfectly suited for Glinda and really showed her Broadway roots. Though Grande is known for fitting into the bubbly pop star persona, she actually got her start on Broadway at age 15 in the musical 13.

Grande’s “pop star persona” helped her develop the bubbly character of Glinda, with perfect comedic timing, making her absolutely magnificent in this role. Grande has talked about how she grew up listening to the Wicked soundtrack during car rides with her mom and how at a young age she met the original Glinda, Kristin Chenoweth.

In the video call where Grande receives the news she got the role of Glinda, she cries tears of joy, saying, “I love her so much. I’m going to take such good care of her.” She has shared how becoming Glinda has been a healing process for her and showed sides of her that society hasn’t seen before.

Something certainly special about this movie is that a majority of the soundtrack was recorded live on set. Yes, that also includes the chilling final scene of Cynthia Erivo flying through the air singing the iconic “Defying Gravity.” I mean, if that’s not impressive, I don’t know what is. Just thinking about it gives me chills.

The movie didn’t stray too far at all from the original stage production. It allowed for it to be done in a more widespread, accessible version, allowing the story to be shared throughout the world. It stayed true to its original music and iconic phrases but allowed for different, creative aspects to express the “wickedness."

Paul Tazewell, the costume designer for the movie, designed wickedly beautiful costumes. I mean, come on, who wouldn’t want to wear Glinda's gown in the opening scene—or any of her pink costumes for that matter? Definitely a feast for the eyes.

Elphaba's black costumes might be simple, but they definitely hold deep meaning. Tazewell talked about how Elphaba wears lots of black because of her mother dying at a young age, showing how she’s been mourning her whole life and how it had a lasting effect on her.

Chu’s creation of the setting was truly incredible and made it an immersive experience. The whimsical, dream-like design brought the land of Oz to life in breathtaking detail.

In all, Chu’s direction of Wicked really brought the musical to life through all aspects of cinematic direction, whimsical settings, and extraordinary actors, making this the movie of the year.

Wicked Part 2 will be out November 21, 2025.

Sonic 3: A Preview

Written by: Shumaker, Nathalie - Reporter

December 9, 2024

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 is a long anticipated movie that is coming out December 20th, 2024. From the trailer that was released on August 27th, it looks like the directors really know what they are doing. However many people may not know the past of some characters when the film comes out. Some of the past may or may not be explained in the movie. I am going to be explaining some of the characters' past that may not be in this movie but is really important to the plot. 

The first character I will be talking about is Maria Robotnik. Maria was the granddaughter of Gerald who heroically died. She died when she tried to send Shadow to the earth to save him. She pulled the lever and then when the government saw she wasn’t obeying their orders they murdered her. Something that you may not know about Maria is she was the only granddaughter of Gerald. Something else you may not know about is she was very very sick. There was no cure for her illness though and because of that she can’t live on the earth.That's why Gerald created Shadow. He was meant to heal Maria’s illness but that never worked. Maria is a very underrated character in the franchise whose life really ended too shortly. 

Another character that we should talk about is Gerald. Gerald worked with the government because he wanted to save Maria. When the government thought Gerald betrayed them they broke into the ark and started arresting everyone except for 2. They were Maria and Shadow. The government chased them and when they caught up they killed Maria. Because the government took Maria away from Gerlad, he made a plan to destroy the whole world for what people did to him. 

Some stories in the Sonic Universe are very sad. However, even through the bad times in the Sonic Universe, good things can come out of it. For example if Tails never got bullied by others he wouldn’t have met Sonic who saved him from the bullies. Another example is in Sonic Adventure 2. Shadow wasn’t going to save the world but rather sit there and do nothing. Amy Rose started to talk to Shadow to tell him that that’s not what Maria wanted at all. Then Shadow remembered the promise he made to Maria to protect humanity. He then helped Sonic stop the Ark from falling into the earth. 

There are many other stories where bad things happened but good came out of it.I wonder if the third movie may show that though bad things happen you can still overcome everything that is thrown your way. I can’t wait for when the 3rd movie releases to go see it. Maybe we will even see some characters that haven't been said to be in the movie yet. We will have to wait and see what is going to happen in the movie.