WEST END PLAYERS

The West End Players had it's origins as the Highland Drama Club in 2006 when we first teamed up with the Sheehan High School drama department to collaborate on The Wizard of Oz.  Our students were, of course, the Munchkins of Munchkinland!  From there we went on to work with Sheehan in The King and I and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.  By then I decided it was time for us to branch out on our own and we became a self-sufficient drama club.  Our first production was The Jungle Book Kids, which was a huge success!  From there we went on to stage The Aristocats Kids and Cinderella Kids.  The following year, I made a change in schools and the Highland Drama club became the Yalesville/Highland drama club, encompassing two schools and twice the number of students!  We also bumped up the skill level and tackled a harder production, Aladdin Jr. This was a huge success and we never looked back!  We went on to stage Honk Jr, Annie Jr, collaborate on an anniversary show of The Wizard of Oz with Sheehan HS again, and our most recent production was The Little Mermaid Jr, also a collaboration with Moran Middle School.  Each year, our skill set grows, we get more proficient at musicality, stage direction, sets, lighting, costuming and overall production.  In 2017 we once again grew our production company. We went from a two school company to a FOUR school company, including the schools on the East side of Wallingford to join.  We welcomed students from Rock Hill and Pond Hill to be a part of The Lion King Jr.  It was one of the largest casts the West End Players has ever worked with! A cast and crew of almost 100 students (including a few Sheehan High school students as our "grown-up characters!") 2018 brought a new "old" musical to our doorstep in Captain Louie, Jr.  With a smaller cast for all 4 schools, this modern take on an old classic children's book was a crowd pleaser as the themes of friendship, kindness, and caring are all in the forefront of our thoughts these days! The 2019 Musical was one of our biggest musicals yet! Peter Pan, Jr had a large cast, with lost boys, mermaids, pirates and children!  Most exciting was the use of new moving screen technology that gave us a new dimension for our backdrops.  Combine that with all new lights and sound at Sheehan and the show was one one of the most exciting yet!  2020 brings the West End Players back full circle with our first recasting of one of our first musicals.  Aladdin Jr revamped and upgraded includes all the new music of the Broadway musical making it exciting, fresh and fun!

Jungle Book Kids

Our first solo production as the Highland Drama Club. 

Cinderella Kids

We employed Disney Magic. Shhh, we can't tell you! It's a secret!

Annie Jr.

One of our most successful musicals!