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Cast vs. Crew
Setting the Stage
Not yet published
Expected 2 Jun 26Win a free print copy of this book!
0 days and 07:36:25
5 copies available
U.S. only
The full story of a junior high musical production, told exclusively from the POV of the kids backstage. It’s High School Musical, from behind the scenes…without the high school.
Eighth grader Ella Amani has waited her whole life to be stage manager, and this is her year! She has a clipboard, a headset, and a clear vision for the grand finale of Marie Curie, The Musical.
Ella’s stage crew comes from all over Juniper Valley Middle School. There’s a girl who’s doing stage crew instead of detention, a sixth grader whose sister is the star of this show, a kid who’s been homeschooled on a boat… plus Ella’s best friend and sidekick, Levi, who used to tell her everything.
Even if they’re invisible to the audience, the crew is key to the whole show.
But what happens if the cast is out to get them?
Setting the Stage, well, sets the stage for a brand-new trilogy that exposes all the secrets behind the curtain and follows one epic battle between cast and crew!
Eighth grader Ella Amani has waited her whole life to be stage manager, and this is her year! She has a clipboard, a headset, and a clear vision for the grand finale of Marie Curie, The Musical.
Ella’s stage crew comes from all over Juniper Valley Middle School. There’s a girl who’s doing stage crew instead of detention, a sixth grader whose sister is the star of this show, a kid who’s been homeschooled on a boat… plus Ella’s best friend and sidekick, Levi, who used to tell her everything.
Even if they’re invisible to the audience, the crew is key to the whole show.
But what happens if the cast is out to get them?
Setting the Stage, well, sets the stage for a brand-new trilogy that exposes all the secrets behind the curtain and follows one epic battle between cast and crew!
- GenresMiddle Grade
208 pages, Paperback
Expected publication June 2, 2026
2 people are currently reading
2044 people want to read
About the author
Lindsay Champion
7 books66 followersLifelong theater geek Lindsay Champion made her stage debut as a tiger in her second-grade musical. Since then, she's built sets, run the light board, operated the spotlight and (her favorite) stage managed. She is a graduate of NYU's Tisch School of the Arts and was the Features Editor at Broadway.com. She writes books about kids discovering and falling in love with the arts. She is the author of the YA novel SOMEDAY, SOMEWHERE and the middle-grade drama club series CAST VS. CREW.
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June 7, 2025
ARC provided by Young Adult Books Central
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August 4, 2025The first book in my middle-grade drama club trilogy, CAST VS. CREW, officially has a cover! We're whipping out the fog machine, the glow tape, the spirit gum and ~*the drama*~ on October 21, 2025. Theater nerds, I have written this series especially for you: It's packed with Broadway easter eggs, musical theater references and inside jokes, with lots of BEE (Big Elphaba Energy).
Preorder links are now live on every retailer! Click here to get a copy on its release date: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/bo...
Adding this book to your Goodreads "to read" list will spread the news to fellow theater fans. Stay tuned for more updates!
Preorder links are now live on every retailer! Click here to get a copy on its release date: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/bo...
Adding this book to your Goodreads "to read" list will spread the news to fellow theater fans. Stay tuned for more updates!
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews