Blue Broadway started without a hefty budget, a team of professional directors or schoolwide support, unlike what an average audience member might assume would lay behind a Los Altos High School production.
“I wanted to make theater here even more accessible than it already is,” president and sophomore Avni Rajagopal said. “I have so much respect for the performing arts program on campus. But I think Blue Broadway hits a different niche in that it allows newer performers or performers who don’t want to take on the entire time commitment, or who want a slightly lower stakes opportunity, [to experience theater].”
A group of 10 students took that very opportunity onto the stage for the performance of “A VHS Christmas Carol” on Thursday, May 2 in the LAHS cafeteria. Flashing lights, classic tunes and animated actors marked the successful debut of Blue Broadway.
“They went into it with 100 percent and fully jumped in for ‘Christmas Carol,’ and I love that they did it,” acting teacher Lisa Battle said.
The club began with weekly meetings every Wednesday, and most of the club members were Avni’s friends. Despite the lack of popularity, Avni attempted to use her existing members to push the club out from under the radar and attract new people.
“It just took all those people to lay the foundation,” Avni said. “Put posters out there, get us in the morning announcements and run a fundraiser just to make a name for the club.”
In November, the club attempted to put on the musical “Trail to Oregon,” and recruit a student director, but both plans fell through due to insufficient funds and low participation.
Avni and vice president Sophie Yung then stepped up to the job as co-directors. “Over time, we realized it was kind of a really ambitious project,” Sophie said. “For us, a student produced [musical], it was a little bit too much.”
The club switched to “A VHS Christmas Carol,” a more manageable 45-minute musical based on the famous story of Ebenezer Scrooge, told entirely through 1980s music.
“We started out a little bit unsure,” Sophie said. “The first few months were spent figuring out how everything worked and navigating the club system.”
While juggling rehearsals and planning, the club also applied for a Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSA) grant to buy light and sound equipment. They brought on a tech director and crew, students as well, to begin preparations for opening night.
“In theory, putting on the production went against a lot of the infrastructure set up for clubs,” Avni said.
The club faced various challenges including finding an advisor that would allow them to practice after school and figuring out how to use the cafeteria as a theater, given that the Eagle Theater was booked up months in advance.
“The vision for the club definitely got scaled down as the year went by,” Avni said.
The makeshift stage out of room dividers, taped-up curtains and minimal stage props were evidently DIY, but Avni believes “it worked out in the end.”
Sophie explained that the days leading up to the performance were particularly hectic because of ‘tech week’ — a period of long rehearsals that integrated the cast and crew with lights, sound, set and costumes. The cast and crew stayed long hours after school to practice, perfecting every detail.
Opening night finally arrived and the cafeteria was transformed from a 2024 lunchroom to a 1980s stage. The cast waited backstage in colorful costumes, neon lights lit up the stage, and even a popcorn machine was loudly popping in the corner. Around 60 parents, students and teachers entered the cafeteria doors at seven, filling up the rows of foldable chairs.
“When we opened up the house and people started coming in, I think that’s when it really started to set in,” Avni said. “Like wow, people came to see this. People are going to be watching all the work that we’d put in and this isn’t like some super small thing anymore.”
“It’s a pretty short musical — it’s supposed to be short and sweet,” actor and freshman Mazie Reidy said. “Everyone put in as much effort as physically possible to give the audience a fun time.”
The lights dimmed, the music started and the audience was instantly brought back to Christmas. The cast performed their upbeat songs and quick dances, captivating the audience until the final bows and to Avni’s speech at the end.
“It’s a huge feat to put on a show,” Battle said. “Very few adults were helping them, because we were all overwhelmed with our own musicals. I kind of even told them, ‘Hey, why don’t you do it next year?’ and they didn’t take no for an answer and put it on. That’s a lot. That’s an accomplishment.”
“Seeing the show, [I realized] how even if we didn’t have the same resources that school productions and community productions [have], we can still make something really cool and contribute something to the audience’s lives,” Avni said.
Avni described that experiencing the impact of their show, making Instagram reels and goofing off together to see a community form was most rewarding in the production process.
“Blue Broadway comes with people of different experiences in theater and in leadership,” Mazie said. “It was nice to work with people from different experiences and it definitely brought the show to what it is.”
Blue Broadway plans to build a tradition of student-run shows, started by “A VHS Christmas Carol.” Next year, catch the club back on stage with a larger cast and crew for an even bigger production.
Find them on Instagram at @bluebroadwaylahs for updates.
