On April 15th, 2026, the CHS theatre department hosted an event called “Miscast,” where students could choose a role that they wouldn’t normally get the chance to perform. Girls got the chance to play any male part and vice versa. The final performance of the night had eight actresses and an extreme standing ovation.
Before the start of the play, a line had formed in front of the Black Box Theater, and out came the emcee (master of ceremonies) of the night, CHS senior, Kieran Joshi. He wore a full suit with a red tie and a ridiculous wig, adding extra flavor and authenticity to the event. Doors opened, and Joshi told everyone that the tickets were well over sold out.
Minutes after the doors opened, all 100 seats in the black box were taken. Joshi once again welcomed the audience and thanked them for coming to Miscast. He proceeded to the concept of a miscast to the crowd, for those who did not already know. After the explanation, he introduced the first act from Something Rotten.
Aja Purkin, Autumn Shorten, Sophie Warkentin, and Sienna Gray Watters sang “Hard to Be The Bard,” with Luchiana Rodriguez leading. The 5 girls started out the night with a high-energy performance, also getting the audience familiar with the concept of a miscast.
Continuing with the upbeat acts came Josh Jacoby and Jade Redfield with “Hello, Little Girl” from Into The Woods. The song retells the story of Little Red Riding Hood, but following the idea of a miscast, it was Jacoby who played Little Red Riding Hood, and Redfield played the Wolf. The duo had costumes that were instantly recognizable, especially the prosthetic mustache and facial hair of the wolf.
Following the comedic routes of the previous two performances, freshmen Hailey Price and Charli Stone sang a slow, dramatic song from The Outsiders Musical. The two of them gutted the audience members with the level of expertise that came from their voices and movements.
The somber mood didn’t stay for long as Ellie Berman, Olivia Morse, and Mia Kay proceeded to lighten the mood with “I’m Still Standing” from Sing. The comedic performance completely contrasted with the former’s, and it clearly caught the viewers off guard. The crowd erupted with laughter as the trio recreated the scene perfectly. The kicker of the scene was when Berman ran to the piano in the room and imitated playing the backing track of the song.
Between each rendition came familiar emcee Joshi, with quips and notes about each act, presenting and thanking the thespian. After this one came an extremely notable introduction from Joshi, where he compared the fictional family bond from Sing to the real kinship of the sibling duo, Dylan and Ivy Baer.
From Into The Woods, the two sang “No One is Alone,” a fitting title and an emotional song for the instant. The performance was sweet in itself, but became even more moving when Joshi came out at the end of the song and revealed that Dylan was a senior and this had been his last year with his sister.
The audience was touched by the last bittersweet act, and then came the three most beautiful girls of the act, Yahav Megidesh, Tyler Bailin, and David Gael, with “Matchmaker.” This comedic act had the three of them dressed in almost a full dress, pleading for a husband. Almost every second of their stagetime had the crowd in a full chuckle.
Tyler Bailin said, “The fun thing about Miscast is that it’s not high stakes. I mean, it’s performed in the black box. The ultimate goal is just to have fun and to have the audience have fun. I was just enjoying myself.”
Finally, the final, most explosive act of the night came with eight Calabasas students performing “Hello” from The Book of Mormon. The octet consisted of Lucy Bollier, Grace Faulk, Claire Guillory, Hunter Jacobson, Ruby Mankowski, Ashley Silverman, Scarlett Tochett, and Sean Taylor. The eight girls took part in a very difficult song to perform as it has multiple contrasting parts that all interrupt each other. For three minutes and thirty seconds, the actresses endured this difficult piece, and it surely paid off, as their hard work came with the longest, most intense round of applause of the night. Calabasas Sophomore and viewer, Jordan Faulk, claimed it was undeniably the most soundout performance of the night.
“The Book of Mormon one [was my favorite]! I think it was called ‘Hello’? That was really funny,” said Faulk.
He clearly wasn’t the only one who heavily appreciated the octet’s acting.
Joshi said, “I think the last one, ‘Hello’, surely because of the number, the eight people that were doing it, and I know they put in a lot more outside of school rehearsals than any of the other groups. I know they’ve really put their best foot forward in every part of that, I know it’s tough.”
