Western Reserve Academy is thrilled to present its fall musical “High Fidelity” inside our Knight Fine Arts Center.
Friday, Nov. 1, at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, Nov. 2, at 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, Nov. 3, at 2 p.m.
Admission is free with open seating.
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In 1995, Nick Horby’s novel “High Fidelity” hit bookstore shelves, featuring unlucky-in-love vinyl nerds, top-five “desert island” lists, snark, music superfandom, and the vital life lesson of getting out of your own way. Adapted first as the beloved movie in 2000, a gender-flipped television series reboot in 2020 and, somewhere in the middle, a broadway musical — “High Fidelity” seems to be one of those stories that works in every era, genre and location.
What is it about Hornby’s story that makes our creatives and composers keep coming back? Fine & Performing Arts Department faculty member and Director Midge Karam ’79 thinks it has something to do with its charming relatability.
“There’s something so great about a musical about ordinary people,” she explained, highlighting a stark difference between this show and productions like “Beauty and the Beast,” “Hairspray,” “The Music Man,” etc. There’s no curse to break, no plucky teenage heroine to champion, no villain to defeat. Instead, it’s just a guy named Rob, charting the ups and downs of his relationships with women to his friends and to the audience.
I had to ask. “Do we like Rob?”
“We do!” Karam laughed. “I was just talking to the cast about this. You have to strike a balance here, between playing someone real, but someone still compelling. I think Tavin is doing a great job with this. He totally gets it.”
Click here to review the full cast list.
For young actors, it’s an interesting exercise to play characters with experiences that they can relate to, such as heartbreak and breakups, agency and growth. Both Karam and English Department faculty member Conor O’Sullivan have enjoyed working with the cast on this development and analysis, with O’Sullivan being particularly helpful with digging deeper into scenes, lines and character study.
Though nearly 30 years have passed since the book was first published, Karam noted her surprise at how timeless the story still feels. “It’s helpful that vinyl is cool again,” she admitted. Record stores still exist and with some demand; fashion of the era has come around again; and the enduring devotion to old-school pop and rock and roll is alive and well, still providing that crucial sense of identity, even among our youngest generations.
But Karam did say that there was some fun in exploring and analyzing minute differences between then and now.
“One of the things I did early that first week was ask the kids to make their own mixtape,” said Karam. “Or to them, a playlist. But we talked about the difference between the two. With a mix tape, you can’t change it. Rob has this whole spiel about the art of putting together a good mixtape. You have to be thoughtful about the selection, order, impact. And once it’s made, you can’t change it. It really is a snapshot of who you are at this moment in time, as is how much the person who you’re gifting the mixtape to means to you.”
This will be WRA’s first staging of “High Fidelity,” and though the musical had a short run, a major takeaway from reviewers was the impressive original score. Every number is inspired by the famous songs from the film’s iconic soundtrack, and from your seat in the theater, you might be reminded of Aretha Franklin, Heart, Pat Benetar, Lenny Kravitz, The Who, Beastie Boys and more.
The seasoned KFAC theater attendee might also notice several new faces in the cast. After graduating so many talented seniors last year, Karam was proud to see how many new stars stepped up to try their hand at musical theater.
“In a way, we’re in a rebuilding year,” she explained. “I can’t believe how many freshmen tried out. That’s really, really cool.”
Behind the scenes, Technical Theater Director Brandon Davies and Fine & Performing Arts Department faculty member and head of costume design, Carol Parker Mittal, have crafted magic. With no blackouts in the script, Karam and Davies put their heads together to design a flexible set, with pieces that can turn, slide in and out, and more. For Parker Mittal, designing the costumes was a fun project; though costumes in shows like these are more subtle than those designed in shows like “Beauty and the Beast” — they are still intentional and thoughtful. She has been careful to look at each character and match their wardrobe to personality and style.
Fine & Performing Arts Department faculty member Katie Velbeck again volunteered her time and talents to design several dance numbers, including three full cast pieces. Karam also commended cast member Mia Maze-Ingram ’25, a seasoned dancer, for helping instruct other cast members and trying her own hand at choreography.
From backstage to front — it’s been an all hands on deck production, proving once again that community and collaboration are a winning combination.
With less than two weeks until curtain call, Karam and the cast and crew are hard at work, putting the finishing touches on a terrific production. She describes these late season rehearsals as pure chaos, but to anyone experienced in theater, that’s to be expected this close to opening night! We look forward to this brand new production for the Knight Fine Arts Center stage, and to seeing the results of months of hard work from our talented cast and crew.
Break a leg, Pioneers!
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A bonus tidbit (since you can’t really talk about High Fidelity without a Top-Five List)
Midge Karam’s Top Five Musicals Of All Time:
- “Les Misérables”
- “Into the Woods”
- “Little Shop of Horrors”
- “Working”
- Answer in progress…
