Purple Light NYC Will Premier A Sample of Michael Roche's HIGH SCHOOL NEVER ENDS With Music By Bowling For Soup and The Dollyrots

Purple Light Productions launches SWATCH, their inaugural new works festival magnifying 15-minute excerpts from rising theatrical works this month featuring 5 exciting new works from 5 emerging artists.

Excerpts being 'SWATCHED' at the end of the month include works from various artists from across the country including Michael Roche. Purple Light presents an excerpt of 'HIGH SCHOOL NEVER ENDS'; a piece devised from the mind of Roche and the music of Grammy-nominated band Bowling For Soup and The Dollyrots.

Roche received his Musical Theater degree from CUA, Masters in Theatre from Villanova University, and has appeared in commercials, films and stage productions. In January, 2022, his musical "Monster" had a world premiere concert reading at Footlighters Theater in Berwyn, Pa. Michael also directed,filmed, and edited the Grammy nominated band Bowling For Soup's official music video "Getting Old Sucks".

MEET THE WORK

Best friends are forever... until they're not. 'High School Never Ends' is a musical romantic comedy featuring the music of Grammy nominated, pop-punk bands Bowling For Soup and The Dollyrots. 'High School Never Ends' takes place 5 years after high school and follows Junior and Dolly, best friends who break-up. The story is progressed by an ensemble of Players (that's a fancier word than actors), who skip the boring parts and get right to the good scenes - like a human remote control. The ensemble portrays multiple roles including bandmates, doctors, waiters, stressballs, and Anxiety; cause let's face it, High School Never Ends.

This high-energy and high-impact piece explores a story written for the "misfit", the character which Roche states he always appreciates the most!

The collaborative process of Roche and these iconic bands started well before the conception of this piece.

In Roche's words, "I was at a Musical Theatre Pitchfest toward the end of Covid Quarantine times, promoting my other musical Monster, and listening to different producers and directors say what they were looking for as audiences were starting to come back to the theatre. First, that audiences wanted something light and would make them smile. Two, shows that audiences were familiar with, or something with name recognition, because it would be difficult to get audience back into the theatre. My Family had just created the Official Music video for Bowling For Soup's "Getting Old Sucks", and it hit me. I love the happy upbeat music of Bowling For Soup and The Dollyrots (who are best friends in real life), let me ask if I can use their music to create a fun, optimistic musical. Both bands agreed, and that is how the journey began."

Beginning the SWATCH selection process, Roche had the duty upon submission to find an excerpt that he felt properly represented the piece.

Roche shares, "This specific excerpt is the first fifteen minutes of the show, and it shows a wide range of music, characters and emotion. The first three songs are the high energy "High School Never Ends", character developing "Smile Smile Smile" and heartfelt emotional duet "Turbulence". The three songs are very different, and give a flavor of both bands."

Roche went on to elaborate on the characters we can expect to meet in this swatch of his work, stating "we are introduced to the Two Narrators, who remind us this is a story and to have fun. Then the audience witnesses the optimistic bond between best friends Junior and Dolly, as Junior heads out on the road to become a rock star. That optimism is riddled with anxiety and self-doubt as Junior believes he may have made the wrong choice. I believe audiences will really enjoy the development of the excerpt, and want to know what happens next."

With direction by Rin O'Brien, music direction by Paige Flottman and a talent-filled cast featuring Austin Vetter, Erin Gassner, Sarah Hoogenrad, Ries Lundstrum, Yale Langworthy, and Brandon Cayetano, Roche hopes to share these themes of friendship, anxiety, and hope, as well as an enjoyable experience for his audience.

Roche shares, "I feel like High School Never Ends is classic story about relationships, such as When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless In Seattle and Bubble Boy.".

Producers Annie Brown and Garrett Langley are ecstatic to be a part of the journey of this piece as it finds its light!

SWATCH plays at The Producers Club - Crown Theater (585 W 44th) on January 28, 2024 at 7pm. In-Person & Livestream tickets are available.

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