New Musical to World Premiere at Poplar Pike Playhouse This fall Germantown High School in association with Theatrical Rights Worldwide (TRW) will produce the world premiere of a brand new musical, Changing Minds. The show, with book and lyrics by David Howard and music by Bret Simmons, features a pop musical score that revolves around the always-complicated lives of high school seniors. A mysterious spell causes a school’s most popular boy and studious girl to swap bodies and minds. Now they are both forced to navigate prom season and graduation from a whole new realm. The Poplar Pike Playhouse will perform the first full-blown production of the show featuring complete orchestrations and a newly revised script. Opening night at the Playhouse will be a star-studded affair, with producers from all over the globe descending on Germantown for this world premiere. “We are delighted to have the Poplar Pike Playhouse world premiere the most important high school musical to be introduced in a very long time,” said Steve Spiegal, the president and CEO of TRW. “We would not have entrusted such a special production to any other school in America. We are excited that Germantown is part of a production that will be featured all over the globe for decades to come.” The show will shine a national media spotlight on the Playhouse. Howard, who wrote Galaxy Quest starring Sigourney Weaver and Tim Allen, and Simmons, who has composed and arranged music for Broadway (Falling For Eve) and television (The Oprah Winfrey Show, Live! with Regis and Kelly), visited Germantown High School in early August to start working with students and staff. The two will return numerous times throughout the creative process to collaborate on this truly original production. Once this show wraps at the PPP, Theatrical Rights Worldwide plans to market the show all over the globe. And every time another theatre produces Changing Minds, the PPP cast members will receive a production credit in the script … another first for the Poplar Pike Playhouse. The cast of Changing Minds includes Madison Arthur, Alexus Branch, Joe Carter, Melanie Culhane, Morgan Dobbins, Avery Franklin, Ashley Grubb, Collin Hutsell, Griffin Jett, Matthew Kuns, Drew Murley, Hunter Reid, Carmencita Rodgers, Rachel Shannon, Tanishia Sims, Anna Smith, Ben Taylor, Cooper Terle, Jaylen Thomas, Ean Travis, Aaron Trent, Justin Waldrip, Emily Wolfe, Elijah Zelonky, Zoe Zelonky and Marinela Zubovic. Changing Minds opens at the Poplar Pike Playhouse November 10 and runs through December 4. Tickets are $20 for adults and $15 for students and seniors. Tickets are on sale Monday, October 3. Reservations can be made online at www.ppp.org or by calling the Poplar Pike Playhouse Box Office at (901) 755-7775 between 7:15 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday. Blocks of tickets are available at reduced rates for school groups and theatre parties. The Poplar Pike Arts Guild, the support group for the Playhouse, will sponsor an opening night benefit on November 10. Ticket prices for this special performance and reception are $20 and may be purchased by calling the Poplar Pike Playhouse Box Office at (901) 755-7775. The Poplar Pike Playhouse also is officially on Facebook and Twitter. Become a fan of the Playhouse and its shows on each site for up-to-date information throughout the year. The Poplar Pike Playhouse is the theatre complex located on the campus of Germantown High School. The corporate sponsor for this production is Germantown Association, Inc.; Board of Directors members are Paul Cardelli, Bobby Lanier, Thane Smith and George Walters. Additional funding for this production is provided by the Germantown Arts Alliance.