ANAHEIM, CA — A portion of the stage at Servite High School here collapsed March 8 when some 250 visiting students from Rosary High School in Fullerton, CA were onstage as part of their annual “Red and Gold” musical theatre challenge. Two dozen were injured. Although some of the injured suffered broken bones, most of the injuries were described as minor to moderate. All hospitalized students had been released from hospitals within a day of the incident.
Officials from Servite High School, an all-boys Catholic school, and Rosary High School, an all-girls Catholic school, noted that the stage had been built in the 1980s but was extended since then. The newer portion of the stage was the part that appeared to have collapsed. The Anaheim Fire Department is looking into the matter.
The musical challenge is a school tradition that dates back to 1971. The show that was taking place when the stage collapsed was the third of three performances that day. Amateur video taken during the event and posted on Youtube shows the visiting students in red and gold swaying back and forth and jumping up a down shortly before the collapse.
