Published March 3, 2026
BY CHOICE MUIVAH
Beneath the spotlight of the Carmel High School performing arts center, “Fame” will take center stage March 27, with adjustments being made to fit the diversity of CHS’ cast to the musical’s original roster of characters.
“The first thing I want people to take away from this is that the focus is about the struggles of performing arts students pursuing their career,” says director Jeff McGrath. “While it definitely is an element of the musical, its main purpose is not to analyze multiculturalism and diversity.”
With vibrant leotards, fuzzy leg warmers and cuffed jeans, the CHS theater ensemble takes a bow after giving audiences a taste of Fame at the VAPA Show. photo by OLIVIA FORT
The 1980s musical features a group of performing arts students in New York who through each character’s struggle, highlights an issue within the performing world, whether it be through a dancer who struggles with weight or the prejudice an African American hip-hop dancer faces due to race.
While the original cast featured a wider range of diversity, with characters such as African American hip-hop dancer Tyrone Jackson, ambitious Latin American singer Carmen Diaz and Jewish aspiring classical musician Scholomo Metzenbaum, the CHS musical will follow the same narrative with minor changes as to be mindful of the race of the original cast versus the student actors.
Tyrone Jackson will be played by junior Brandon Corro-Guerreo, and some adjustments have been made to the original character to reflect Corro-Guerreo’s Spanish heritage. The character will be renamed to Tyrone Torres, and some of the lyrics that reference the original character’s race in his song, “Tyrone’s Rap,” will be adjusted.
“It is a bit of a touchy subject, but I think we can do it with sensitivity,” says junior Radler Pinkerton who will be playing Joe Vegas. “In no way do we intend to make fun of the culture.”
The character Mabel Washington, a talented dancer who faces pressure to fit beauty standards and struggles with weight, is known for her struggles with food. While there was concern among the cast that audiences may take offense to the character and criticize how the musical brings up Mabel’s weight, spectators should note that the main focus of the character is to talk about the toxicity of dance culture, not whether discussing weight is insensitive.
“Sometimes it goes over people’s heads as to what the actual point of the story is about,” says junior Bella Moet who will be playing Carmen Diaz. “These issues should be talked about, and also it shows that CHS can handle heavier topics.”
Originally, many of the actors felt uneasy about the musical because they felt that the background and appearance of the original characters would impact casting decisions, but after conversations and informal discussions sparked between actors, McGrath made it clear that appearance would have no impact on the final cast and everyone has the opportunity to try out for a character as long as they feel comfortable playing them.
“There were concerns about being typecasted or people not feeling comfortable in certain roles,” says senior Lila Glazier who will play dancer teacher Miss Bell. “But we had a meeting beforehand about how nothing was precast and people would only be placed in certain roles if they were comfortable.”
Within the buzz of fizzy hair, vibrant leotards and fuzzy legwarmers, the musical’s bittersweet tale shows the struggles of performing arts students in a big city, bringing attention to the pressure that comes with the spotlight. In addition to sensitive storylines, the performance is full of choreographed dance numbers, quips and solos, maintaining its entertaining musical appeal.
“Fame” will make its debut on Friday, March 27, and run through April 4 at the performing arts center.
