As the Findlay High School Musical Theatre program prepares for their fall musical, speculations for the 2023 spring musical arise. Director Andy Cantrell displayed a collage of potential shows in the FHS choir wing to create anticipation among students.

Each day, Cantrell takes a possible show off of the wall until there is only one left. The spring musical will be officially announced at You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown on Friday, November 11, 2022. The wall includes photos of Anything Goes, Into the Woods, Sound of Music, Little Shop of Horrors, Bye Bye Birdie, Addams Family, Footloose, and Newsies.

“I’m most excited for Anything Goes,” sophomore Lily Perkins said, “I like that there’s tap [dancing] in it, and I’ve wanted to do that show for a long time.”

Several other students weigh their options as they choose which show they would prefer to do. Senior Josh Baker took part in every FHS play and musical since his freshman year, and he is delighted by the list of possibilities.

“I like Newsies a whole lot,” Baker stated. “It’d be fun to be Jack Kelly. But I’m happy that Disaster was taken down, I don’t like Disaster that much.”

So far, SpongeBob the Musical, Hair, Titanic, Disaster, Something Rotten, Once Upon a Mattress, Hunchback of Notre Dame, and Matilda have been removed from the wall. Students gather around the collage every day after school to see what show was taken down.

“I hope Sound of Music gets taken down,” Perkins added. “I saw that show when I was in sixth grade and I fell asleep during it. It was kind of boring.”

The musical directors decided on the spring musical weeks ago, so now they eagerly watch their students’ reactions to each days’ removal. Rehearsal Assistant Laura Dyer enjoys seeing her students get excited for the spring show.

“I definitely think that [the reveal] has helped us kind of get people excited about it,” Dyer said. “I think that towards the end of the days it’ll get even more people [excited].”

Those involved or interested in Findlay High School’s theatre productions have been trying to gather clues and hints from the directors, but the spring musical will not be announced until this weekend. The tentative date for the musical informational meeting is January 4, 2023, and the show is set to take place on March 30 through April 2.

“I’m really excited about the show that we picked,” Dyer concluded. “And I’m excited to hopefully have a lot of people audition for it and work with the talent coming it.”