The Coronado School of the Arts program is getting ready to introduce a new show to Coronado High School, allowing students the opportunity to show off their talents and passions for theater. The anticipated musical coming to CHS is Grease, written and directed by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey. The plot of the musical follows Danny Zuko and Sandy Dumbrowski, two teens who happened to fall in love over the summer and experienced the challenges of high school together. Grease follows teenage friendships, romance, and fitting in during the 1950s. Grease is known for its 1950s rock and roll, high energy dance, and its story of working class teens. The CoSA department will have their opening night on October 15th, with the show running through October 18th.
To Junior Alfonso Sanchez, CoSA is a huge opportunity, and is why he is here at CHS. He is a transfer student from Chula Vista and was homeschooled previously, and is now going to school in person full-time.“It’s my first musical, but they have been so welcoming. All the CoSA people are super cool,” Sanchez said. When asked about how he balances school, CoSA, and sports, Sanchez stated, “I have to do a lot of homework during lunch and when I’m in class, but when I don’t have anything to do, I work on my lines and on my music. Working on how to get the music right at home and practicing independently for music and lines is for sure a challenge.” Sanchez joined this musical not only because he was already introduced to the CoSA environment, but also because his mom was a huge fan of the Grease movie and was so excited for him and his sister to audition.
For Sanchez, the audition process went smoothly. “It was very fun. I practiced for a month before rehearsing. Then after, we had to learn a really long dance, and I have never danced before so I think I did pretty good considering that.” Due to the lengthiness of the audition, callbacks were the following day, so there wasn’t much time to prepare. “We went through the lines and sang a few songs, so it was interesting to see how fast we caught on to it,” Sanchez said.
In comparison, Senior Julia Davidson, who plays Rizzo, believed her audition experience to be very fun. “Of course picking songs and practicing can be stressful, but I’ve found that if you simply let the flow go then you’ll be fine and end up having a lot of fun,” Davidson said.
Generally, in Musical Theater, there are three skills you should be good at to be successful. Singing, dancing, and acting. If you have all three, you’re considered a “triple threat,” Sanchez said. Students in CoSA Musical Theater have many paths they can take to continue their passion in the future, whether it’s pursuing it in a professional career and college or keeping it in their daily routine.
When asking Senior Addy Munsterman if she plans on continuing her Musical Theater passion in the future she said, “Yes, I am planning on pursuing this in the future. CoSA has helped me prepare a lot. I am always working with a musical theatre college coach to hopefully go to college to pursue musical theater.”
As opening night nears, students continue to prepare and work hard to make the production the best it can be. This year the CoSA Musical Theater team is full of students that are ready to show their passions and talents on stage.
VOLUME FOURTEEN, ISSUE ONE – SEPT 2, 2026