{"id":5067,"date":"2026-06-23T12:34:42","date_gmt":"2026-06-23T12:34:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=5067"},"modified":"2026-06-23T12:34:42","modified_gmt":"2026-06-23T12:34:42","slug":"a-strong-message-in-a-first-ocps-high-schools-combine-for-summer-show","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=5067","title":{"rendered":"\u2018A strong message\u2019: In a first, OCPS high schools combine for summer show"},"content":{"rendered":"
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As soon as Adriel Ruiz heard there would be an Orlando production of \u201cIn The Heights\u201d this summer, the 18-year-old knew he had to audition.<\/p>\n

Read more Rain chances are slightly lower while heat trend continues<\/a><\/p>\n

The show, a Tony Award-winning Broadway musical written by Lin Manuel Miranda, follows the lives of several Latino characters as they chase their dreams while living in the Washington Heights neighborhood of New York City. Ruiz, a recent graduate of Cypress Creek High School, is a proud Puerto Rican and thought the musical\u2019s themes of community and cultural identity resonated, personally and with many other students.<\/p>\n

Ruiz was delighted he earned the lead role of Usnavi, a Dominican bodega owner, in the first-of-its-kind summer theater program run by Orange County Public Schools.<\/p>\n

The show\u2019s themes and the country\u2019s current political tensions surrounding immigration made it a production \u201cwe need right now,\u201d Ruiz said.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of people, especially the people in the Latin community, need a strong message to stand up. Especially with what\u2019s happening right now in the world,\u201d Ruiz said before running to the stage to rehearse a musical number.<\/p>\n

Ruiz and about 90 other students from high schools across Orange are taking part\u00a0in the four-week summer theater program that will culminate in a three-night performance of \u201cIn The Heights\u201d at Edgewater High School from June 26-28.<\/p>\n

The program, made possible by a $50,000 grant from the Phoenix Foundation of Central Florida, was open to students from any OCPS high school and allowed those tapped to participate for free.<\/p>\n

The grant money helped pay for the six employees from five different high schools to oversee the production, the materials needed to build the set mimicking the streets of New York and costumes and props.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

More than 150 OCPS students auditioned for the program, with 54 chosen as actors, 27 picked to work technical roles, and 12 cast as musicians.<\/p>\n

The district hopes to expand the summer program next year, hosting it in schools in other parts of the county.<\/p>\n

Last week, students ran through technical rehearsals of different songs, integrating choreography with vocals and learning how to move on the stage. Students in charge of set building worked to put final touches on the two-floor platforms designed to look like old New York brownstone townhouses.<\/p>\n

Student performers weaved through the set, waving the flags of Puerto Rico, Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Jamaica as they practiced the \u201cCarnaval Del Barrio\u201d musical number \u2014 a second-act performance that embodies the musical\u2019s theme of celebrating different cultures.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Alex Mendez, the theater director at University High School, is overseeing the summer production and called his experience \u201cjoyful.\u201d The 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. schedule allows him and the students to dive into the material far more deeply than they can during a school-year production.<\/p>\n

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Mendez said \u201cIn The Heights\u201d was his first choice for the summer show, given the district\u2019s sizable Latino and Black population and the changes to federal immigration policy under the Trump administration.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the story for them,\u201d Mendez said in an interview between rehearsals.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a never-ending message about how we should learn to accept one another and show who we are and why we matter and why we can work towards something to make something of our lives, with or without money,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

It was \u201cmind-blowing,\u201d he said, that students could take part for free since often summer theater programs have a cost to participate.<\/p>\n

\u201cOrlando is filled with lots of different varying levels of socioeconomic situations, and so I just know this show and this program is speaking to students of all cultures and ethnicities, but also all different types of makeups and backgrounds,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

And students have opportunities to take part even if they are not performers, working to rig lighting, build the sets and create wardrobes.<\/p>\n

Edie Mize, 14, a rising freshman at Freedom High School, helped find costume pieces at nearby thrift stores to match the early-2000s setting of \u201cIn The Heights.\u201d<\/p>\n

Over the last three weeks, Edie helped create more than 100 costumes for the show.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love the fashion style from this time period, so I was super excited when I got in and was able to start costuming. It\u2019s stuff that I would actually wear, and it\u2019s just really fun to do,\u201d she said, standing outside of the production\u2019s overflowing costume closet.<\/p>\n

Edie said she\u2019s learned valuable skills, such as using a sewing machine and altering clothes to fit different people, and made friends she hopes to see at next summer\u2019s program.<\/p>\n

Ruiz, who graduated in May and is headed to Valencia College, said auditioning for the show was \u201cone of the best decisions\u201d he\u2019s made.<\/p>\n

He said he\u2019s enjoyed making friends from across the county and learning about their different backgrounds.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis has been such an amazing experience. I don\u2019t think I could put this in terms of money on how much I love this,\u201d Ruiz said.<\/p>\n

Read more Asking Eric: Is this married woman hitting on me or is she just gregarious?<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In a first, students from high schools across Orange County join together to put on musical, with their performances of ‘In The Heights’ scheduled for this coming weekend.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5066,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5067","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-education","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n\u2018A strong message\u2019: In a first, OCPS high schools combine for summer show - Orlando Relocation Report<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/orlandorelocationreport.com\/?p=5067\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u2018A strong message\u2019: In a first, OCPS high schools combine for summer show - 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