InterviewHow NBC's Rise Takes High School Drama Kids SeriouslyThe new series from Friday Night Lights creator Jason Katims, starring Josh Radnor, puts the importance of theatre centerstage.
By
Ruthie Fierberg
March 02, 2018
When NBC Entertainment Chairman Bob Greenblatt and Hamilton producer Jeffrey Seller handed Jason Katims the book Drama High: The Incredible True Story of a Brilliant Teacher, a Struggling Town, and the Magic of Theater by Michael Sokolove, the creator of the Emmy-winning Friday Night Lights and Parenthood knew he had found his next television show.
The story of author and teacher Lou Volpe鈥檚 overhaul of his public school drama department and the power of theatre to change students鈥� lives captured Katims, who transformed the book into Rise, which premieres March 13 on NBC.
In Katims鈥� version, Lou Mazzuchelli (played by Josh Radnor of Broadway鈥檚 Disgraced and the CBS sitcom How I Met Your Mother) enacts a drastic shakeup when he casts kids outside the typical drama club roster and swaps Grease for the controversial Spring Awakening. Katims chose the Tony winner as Mazuchelli鈥檚 maiden musical because it mirrors his characters鈥� struggles of self-discovery. 鈥淚t was about teenagers going through very, very difficult stuff,鈥� says Katims, who dug into the material with the Best Musical鈥檚 Tony-winning librettist Steven Sater. 鈥淚 felt like, 鈥極h, this will be very rich to explore for the first show that we do between our characters.鈥欌�
The underfunded drama program and its inexperienced leader鈥檚 fight to prioritize the arts鈥攁nd the town backlash to that art鈥攁nchors the show, but the series鈥� strength is that it reaches far past the auditorium door. 鈥淚 felt like Rise should ultimately be stories about families,鈥� says Katims.
As his characters grapple with timely issues鈥攊dentity, class disparity, sexuality and religion, healthcare, addiction鈥擪atims crafts the ten-episode narrative in a way that doesn鈥檛 feel like a checklist of relevance, but an organic portrait of small town people and their reality.
This is what makes Rise unlike other musical television shows. Viewers will still hear songs like 鈥淢ama Who Bore Me鈥濃攑erformed by Moana鈥檚 Auli'i Cravalho鈥攁nd 鈥淢y Junk,鈥� but Katims trades pristine production numbers for gritty rehearsal scenes and the personal conflicts that enrich them. 鈥淭he show doesn鈥檛 feel like, 鈥極h, this is about a high school drama program where people are going to break into song,鈥欌� he says. 鈥淚t felt like, 鈥極h, this is grounded in reality. This is a real place.鈥�
鈥淎t the center of this is how important the arts are鈥攈ow important it is for people who are in high school to be exposed to that. Putting my involvement aside,鈥� Katims adds, 鈥淚鈥檓 so happy that this show is going to be out there.鈥�
Ruthie Fierberg is the Senior Features Editor of 半岛体育 covering all things theatre and co-hosting the Opening Night Red Carpet livestreams on 半岛体育's Facebook. Follow her on Twitter @RuthiesATrain, on Instagram @ruthiefierceberg, or via .
