Review: THAT'S SO HIGH SCHOOL at The Analog At The Hutton Hotel
THAT'S SO HIGH SCHOOL is more than just star power and nostalgia; it’s a love letter to our younger selves as reassurance that the best is yet to come.
High School. A period of confusion, heartbreak, and important life lessons. Even if our high school days weren’t the best days of our lives (I say as I raise my hand), we often look back on them and see how far we’ve come. For better or for worse. On April 18th, I found myself transported back to my high school days as I attended That’s So High School at the Analog at the Hutton Hotel. It was the second entry in the hotel’s 2026 Off-Broadway cabaret series, and it was hosted by the talented Rachel Potter. Having once played Wednesday Addams in The Addams Family Musical on Broadway, she had connections to the Broadway stars who traveled to Nashville for this incredible one-night-only event. Combine those stars with some charming local talent and catchy tunes from musicals set in high school, and you’ve got a night to remember. That’s So High School is more than just star power and nostalgia; it’s a love letter to our younger selves as reassurance that the best is yet to come.
When I interviewed Rachel Potter earlier this week, she shared that she had been hosting this cabaret series since October. The first show they did was based on Wicked, and it was very immersive. They continued their immersive style in That’s So High School. Before you even enter the lounge, you see a photo booth set up across from the doors. The female bartenders dressed up as cheerleaders, and some guests wore boutonnieres and corsages. The specialty cocktails were served from giant punch bowls, with fun names like “Velvet Corsage” and “Detention Slip”. I was seated front and center, and I immediately fell in love with my table decorations. Surrounding the single candle were nostalgic candies like Pop Rocks, Push Pops, and even candy cigarettes. I completed some 90s trivia and even played a game of MASH, which I was obsessed with back in middle school. To say that I played along with the theme is an understatement. Since a prom-themed after-party would occur shortly after the show, I prepared for it as if I were a teenager going to a dance. I even went shopping for a dress similar to what I would’ve worn back then, completed with girly accessories and shiny makeup. Thank you, Analog, for turning this 31-year-old woman back into a 16-year-old girl.
Disclaimer: This review will not mention every song from the show, so don’t look at what I’ve written and assume that there was a short playlist. I can't recall every song or the exact performance times for each, especially the ones that I wasn’t already familiar with. It doesn’t help that I just had to try both of the specialty cocktails.
Like a Broadway musical, this cabaret told a story or two. After renditions of “A Cautionary Tale” from Mean Girls and “The Start of Something New” from High School Musical, Potter explained to the audience that they would split the show into different chapters. Kicking things off with the “Cliques” chapter, the cast split into the T-Birds and the Pink Ladies to give us the Grease classic “Summer Nights”. As someone who had played Patty Simcox right after college graduation, I had to sing along. We also enjoyed songs like “Meet the Plastics” from Mean Girls and “Candy Store” from Heathers: The Musical. It was so satisfying to see Taylor Louderman and Elle McLemore reprise their roles as Regina George and Heather McNamara, respectively. Next, we entered the “Love Stories” chapter with songs like “Only Us” from Dear Evan Hansen, which was performed by TikTok star Jada Wasserman and Nashville Repertory Theatre regular Dustin Davis. Local artist Erin McCracken finished both Act One and the “Dreams” chapter with “Good Morning Baltimore” from Hairspray. She even sprayed Potter’s hair with hairspray.
After a brief intermission, we entered the “Conflicts” chapter. The biggest highlight of this chapter was witnessing Taylor Louderman perform “World Burn” as Regina George for the first time since she’d last played the role on Broadway. Next, we entered the “Parents” chapter. This one meant a lot to Potter as a mother of three. She explained how as kids we just assume that our parents are superheroes who can handle anything, but then some of us become parents and realize that we’re just humans. I nearly cried as she dedicated “So Big/So Small” from Dear Evan Hansen to her son, who was in the audience. Finally, we finished the story with the “Lessons” chapter. While the cast ended the show with “We’re All In This Together” from High School Musical, one of the biggest highlights came right before that. Potter welcomed a special guest to the stage; Julia LaFreniere. When she walked up to the stage, I immediately recognized her from Street Theatre Company’s We Are The Tigers. She was celebrating her sixteenth birthday that night, meaning she was only fifteen when she starred in that stellar show. Joining the cast, she performed “You Will Be Found” from Dear Evan Hansen. Given the number of songs from that show that I’ve mentioned so far, Potter wasn’t kidding in her interview with me when she said that it was her favorite musical out of the ones being covered in the cabaret.
Rachel Potter couldn’t have brought in a more suitable cast for this show. Some of the featured Broadway stars were known for their roles in musicals set in high school. The most notable one of the bunch was Taylor Louderman, who earned a Tony nomination for originating the role of Regina George in Mean Girls on Broadway. As someone who never got to see the show on Broadway, it felt surreal seeing her briefly reprise her role here in Nashville. With her killer vocals and powerful stage presence, I can see why she’s a Tony nominee. She also starred in Bring It On: The Musical on Broadway, and her former costar, Elle McLemore, joined her on the Analog stage. McLemore was also Heather McNamara in the Off-Broadway production of Heather: The Musical, and she was such a great addition to the show. Not only did she have this charm that I couldn’t ignore, but she nearly made me cry with “Lifeboat”. If the line to see her after the show hadn’t been so long, I would’ve told her how much I had admired her performance. Oh well. Both she and Louderman can just read this. Hi ladies! I loved your performances!
Although I didn’t get to speak to Louderman or McLemore, I did get to speak to Jelani Remy and Marty Thomas. They were really nice, and they gave incredible performances that evening. Remy is known for Broadway shows like The Lion King, Ain’t Too Proud, and Back to the Future. He was also in the National Tour of High School Musical, which is why he and Carolina Rial performed the second song of the evening, “The Start of Something New”. I couldn’t help but lip-sync along to that, and I was swaying in my seat to his performance of “Beauty School Dropout”. He just has that star power that you can’t ignore, leaving me with the biggest smile on my face. Potter told me that she invited Thomas because “he can sing down on some Dear Evan Hansen”. She wasn’t exaggerating when she said that, especially when it came to “Waving Through A Window”. I tried to lip-sync along with him, but then tears streamed down my face and I had to stop. No notes. I also got to meet Ben Laxton after the show, and he was just as nice as everyone else I had spoken to. Known for his work in The Book of Mormon on Broadway, he did a number of songs from Heathers: The Musical. I complimented him on his performance of “Freeze Your Brain”, and I will further compliment his duet with Erin McCracken, “Seventeen”. Thirteen out of ten. That’s all I can say. I also need to highlight featured artist Chris Brent Davis, who played the keys in the band alongside David Weinstein on drums and Brad Williamson on bass. He got to sing “Michael in the Bathroom” from Be More Chill, and he nailed it.
One of the first performers of the evening was former The Voice contestant Carolina Rial. Her vocals were to die for, and she had such a glamorous aura. That was especially the case when she came back later to perform “Hopelessly Devoted To You” from Grease. I wasn’t already familiar with Jada Wasserman prior to my interview with Potter, but I had since followed her on social media and discovered that she’s the singing voice for Monster High’s Cupid Asteria. Girl, I’m jealous. Anyway, back to the show. Given her powerful vocals as Heather Chandler during “Candy Store” and her sincere delivery of “Only Us”, it’s no surprise that she was asked to participate. Rounding out the rest of Potter’s crew are two artists I know personally. I met Erin McCracken at Sid Gold’s Request Room in East Nashville, and I was already familiar with her vocal talent. She was truly dazzling in every single one of her performances, and she was adorable as Tracy Turnblad in both “Good Morning Baltimore” and “Without Love” from Hairspray. And last but not least (not counting Rachel Potter), there’s the one and only Dustin Davis. You’d probably recognize him from his work with various theatre companies like Nashville Repertory Theatre, Studio Tenn, and Nashville Children’s Theatre. Like McCracken, my friendship with Davis grew thanks to Sid Gold’s. And no, he will not be given a free ride based solely on friendship. If you give a terrible performance, I will say so. I will bury you alive. With that being said, Davis was great. If you’ve ever heard him sing, then it’s not a surprise that he got to be in this show. I honestly don’t think he gets enough credit for his vocal talents compared to other musical theatre actors in the Nashville area. Since this show was high school-themed, I’m going to make a mediocre joke and say that Davis gets an A+ from me.
Finally, we get to the host of the show, Rachel Potter. Even though my interview with her was done over Zoom, I felt close to Potter based on the vibes between us alone. I felt less like I was interviewing someone more famous than me and more like I was speaking to someone whom I hadn’t seen in years. Maybe it’s because she’s just so nice. Her warm personality makes her the perfect host. She was such a cheerleader whenever she introduced the next performer, and she had nothing but good things to say about her cast during our interview. If we were to compare the cast members to high school character tropes, then Potter would be the class president who keeps everything together. Even when one of the iPads with the lyrics had issues during a song, she stepped right in to fix the problem without disrupting the performers. What a pro. As I said before, I nearly cried when she sang “So Big/So Small”. It was certainly a highlight for me, especially since her son watched her from the side. So sweet! Oh, and to top it all off, she was sweet enough to shuffle over to me from a group of people to give me a hug. Since she stated in the interview that the title of the show was inspired by Taylor Swift’s “So High School” (and yes, I will STILL call out the marketing guy who added “that’s” to the title for no reason), I made her a friendship bracelet. It said “So High School”, and she loved it.
Thank you, Rachel and the Analog team, for organizing a successful show. I can’t wait for the next one, which will be The Room Where It Happened in July. They will also do The Addams Family Musical in concert for Halloween, with Potter reprising her role as Wednesday.
Reader Reviews
