Spring is often depicted as the season of new beginnings. Flowers bloom, and the sun begins to peek out of the clouds for the first time in months.

Spring is also the beginning of something else–the school musical season. High schools from all over are finally wrapping rehearsals and getting ready for opening night of their respective shows. But one show preceded all of that.

Last Thursday, schools from around the Allegheny County area gathered on the NASH stage to give sneak peeks of their upcoming performances at Twilight Night.

Dazzling selections from numerous schools took the audience on journeys through all the different musicals–from the majestic beaches of Greece in Mamma Mia to the gritty 1920’s streets of Chicago and to the snowy fjords of Arendelle in NA’s production of Frozen. 

“I liked getting to see people I remembered from years ago,” said Paxton Masters, who stars as The Phantom in Avonworth’s production of Phantom Of The Opera. “I also loved getting to become friends with so many wonderful people!”

Kaitlin Howe from Hampton acted as an emcee for her school.

“My favorite part of the night is getting to see what everyone has been working so hard on and celebrating the incredible talent in our area,” she said.

Casey Richey, a senior at North Allegheny who will portray Elsa in Frozen, also spoke on the night.

“I loved getting to meet people from different schools,” she said. “I loved hearing everyone sing their songs.”

Though NASH junior Sam Peffer, a musical veteran in his own right, did not perform, he happily attended the show last week.

“Twilight Night is such an exciting and unifying event,” he said.. “It’s so cool to see kids from all over your community share their talents.” 

Parent volunteers stood outside in the lobby, selling homemade baked goods donated by North Allegheny parents. This was part of the funding for the event, which also acted as a fundraiser for North Hills Community Outreach. 

Following the final curtain, Mr. Tozier, who helped produce the event, was especially pleased.

“I love the fact that Twilight Night gives us the ability to showcase our talented kids but also for other schools to showcase their talented kids,” he said. “And I think that being able to all come together is really awesome.”

In case you missed the event, links to tickets for all the shows featured are below:

North Allegheny High School’s Frozen: https://namusical.com/tickets/

Hampton High School’s Once Upon A Mattress: https://www.hamptoncats.org/tickets

Avonworth High School’s Phantom Of The Opera: https://ahstickets.booktix.com/

Quaker Valley High School’s Alice By Heart: https://qvhsmusical.ludus.com/index.php

Pine-Richland High School’s Chicago: https://prhs.pinerichland.org/athletics-activities/musical

Shaler High School’s Mamma Mia!: https://shalerarea.org/2025/02/03/sahs-musical-guys-dolls/

Fox Chapel High School’s Something Rotten: https://sites.google.com/a/cl.fcasd.edu/fcahschoirs/fcasd-choirs/choral-ensembles/spring-musical

Northgate High School’s Legally Blonde: https://onthestage.tickets/northgate-high-school-musical

And in case you missed the fundraiser and still want to donate: https://www.nhco.org/donate