Highland High School is taking on a theatrical challenge this weekend by becoming one of the first schools in Iowa to perform “Elf: The Musical,” which is based off the popular holiday movie. Vocal Music Director Jennifer Wagner chose to do the musical as a way of challenging both herself and the students with a show they’re most likely not familiar with. She feels the students have met the challenge, and was impressed with their level of commitment to the production. She says, “I’m very proud of the students at Highland, because we can honestly say we did every ounce of it by ourselves.”

Junior Nathan Butler is starring as Buddy the Elf, and Wagner says everyone feels he was the natural choice to play the part. They will be using recorded music as opposed to a pit band, which Wagner says has more to do with the size of the school than the talent of the musicians. She says, “In a school the size of ours, chances are if you were to play in the pit, you’re talented enough to be in the musical. So all of our talent will be on stage.” “Elf: the Musical” will be performed Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. and costs $8 for adults and $5 for students. It has a runtime of around an hour and a half with intermission, and during the Saturday intermission they will have a “cookie stroll” as a way to raise additional money. For more information about the Highland musical, listen to the In Touch with Southeast Iowa interview with Wagner at KCIIRadio.com.