Salem High Musical 'Ranked' More Serious Than Previous Productions

SALEM, NH — Next month's Salem High School musical "Ranked" represents a departure from previous musicals at the school, especially last year's "The SpongeBob Musical," according to those affiliated with the show.

"In the past, Salem was focused on having what we call 'bells and whistley' productions, more of the bigger productions with big choreography, a lot of bright colors and fun," student Emily Aloise, who plays Alexis Larson in the production, said in an interview broadcast on YouTube. "This show is more serious, smaller, but it allows us to be a lot more emotionally intricate."

The musical, which is presented by Salem High School Theatre Arts, will be performed at 7 p.m. on Nov. 17, 18 and 19 at the Seifert Performing Arts Center. Tickets are $15 for adults and $12 for students and seniors and can be purchased online. The show is recommended for ages 12 and up.

Written by a pair of California teachers and first performed in 2019, "Ranked" is a story of a dystopian world where competition reaches new heights as publicized academic excellence defines each high school student's worth.

According to Merrimack Valley Life, Salem High School will be the first school in New Hampshire to produce the show.

Chris Bujold, SHS theater teacher and the show's director, said students definitely can relate to a show about stressing over class rank. That familiarity, Bujold said, enhances the production.

"There is a lot that is put on students and this show really explores that, and the students are really connecting, " Bujold said in an interview broadcast on YouTube. "That's the point of the theater, to connect. The more that the students can connect to the material the more passionate they'll be and I think that will come out in the performance even more."

Bujold said the show was chosen specifically because it was different than previous efforts at the school, like SpongeBob.

"It's a very different show than SpongeBob, which is a very bright, razzamatazz, goofy, cartoony all-ages show, that is a big crowd pleaser," Bujold said. "Now, we're doing something that is an emotional, deep, kind of serious piece that has kind of a social message to it. That's different, but that's intentional. We want to expose students to different types of theater and art that we can create."

While the show is not recommended for elementary school audiences, Aloise said the material may be particularly informative for parents of high school students.

"Parents should definitely come and see the show because it allows them to understand more about their teenager," Aloise said. "As teens, we put a lot of stress on our GPAs and class rank and what we do in school and that does transfer to home. It's good for parents to understand why a teenager acts a certain way and what a teenager goes through in school."

Aloise added: "The school experience that our parents had is a lot different than the school experience that we have, so parents seeing what we do throughout our day and the stress that's put on us helps a parent understand their child more."