Isaiah Banegas, Austin Price and Ian Sweitzer, from left, as the Gray Brothers star in “Disney’s Camp Rock: The Musical” at Cumberland County Playhouse.Austin Price says he was a musician long before he was an actor, so acting in the role of a musician in Cumberland County Playhouse’s upcoming production of “Disney’s Camp Rock: The Musical” is not a stretch for the Crossville native.
“What’s cool for me,” he said, “is it’s almost like I’m playing myself.”
The Tennessee premiere of the show opens Saturday and features Price portraying Shane Gray, one of three brothers in the story of two rival summer camps, Camp Rock and Camp Star, who battle for bragging rights.
The Gray brothers were originally played by the Jonas Brothers in the Disney television shows on which the production is based.
“We went in and tried to do a new spin on it,” said Gray, who’s played the guitar and banjo for years. “From what I saw, they’re a little quirkier than the three of us in this show. We just went in and tried to do our own thing. I think it feels more realistic, more heartfelt.”