By the time the curtain goes up this weekend, The Lion King Jr. at Habersham Central High School will already have lived it’s full circle of life.
The show was originally set to close at the end of last semester. Instead, it kept going through scheduling changes, long after-school hours, and performances for kindergarten and first-grade classrooms across Habersham County. Now, after months of work and refinement, the Stage Raiders are opening the auditorium doors to the community.
What makes this production different isn’t just the familiar music or the colorful costumes. It’s how deeply the students themselves carried the show, on stage, backstage, and everywhere in between.
Senior Christy Walden didn’t just perform. She helped build the world the audience will step into.
“In the show, I acted as major designer,” Walden said. “I designed headpieces and helped with set design and basically had a hand in most anything creative on stage.”
Walden said a small group of students handled much of the technical and artistic work, often staying late to bring ideas to life.
“It was a team of roughly five techs doing basically all the work,” she said. “There were days I came to school at eight in the morning and didn’t go home until six-thirty at night.”
That time added up, not just in hours, but in growth.
“It’s been a fun challenge because it’s been so much to do,” Walden said. “It’s been a very growing experience for me.”
She said the finished production reflects the effort of far more than just the cast under the lights.
“There have been a large number of people, from the actors to the techs, the lighting technicians, friends, and so many others that have put so much time into this,” she said.
Senior Ashley Jones, who plays Zazu, said the show demanded more from students than simply memorizing lines or choreography.
“We knew from the beginning of the first semester that any musical we did needed to be in-house,” Jones said. “So students were creating the choreography and designing the costumes.”
Jones said being trusted with that responsibility changed the experience.
“I think it’s really special because it gave us a chance to grow in our skills and experience something new in a show that we hadn’t really done before,” she said.
That growth became especially visible during performances for younger students across the county, audiences who responded honestly and without filters. Now, Jones hopes the community will see the same care and effort on stage.
“We’ve put so much work into it,” she said. “It’ll just be a great show for you to bring your kids to, or just to sit and listen to the music that you grew up hearing.”
For senior Joshua Gamboa, who plays Simba, the show became more than another role during his final year of high school.
“This show has really helped me grow and become a lot more confident in myself,” Gamboa said. “And become better as a singer, actor, and dancer.”
After performing for hundreds of elementary students, Gamboa said opening the show to the public feels like a natural next step.
“I think it’s really great for the community to see high school students doing this,” he said. “With all the leadership from the students as well, they need to see that.”
Community performances of The Lion King Jr. will take place January 8–10 at 7 p.m. in the auditorium at Habersham Central High School. General admission is $5, and tickets can be purchased online or at the HCHS box office.
