The cast of the very successful Grease at San Marcos High School stopped its final curtain call Saturday to honor director David Holmes.

The 2010 production marked Holmes’ 25th spring musical at San Marcos, 4750 Hollister Ave. The cast cheered as assistant principal Ed Behrens and Santa Barbara School District Superintendent Brian Sarvis took the stage to present the longtime theater arts teacher with an enormous bouquet of flowers. Holmes’ wife, Julie, many alumni, colleagues and friends were there to wish him well on this special occasion.

Holmes was praised for his dedication to the performing arts in Santa Barbara schools, and his commitment to give his students the highest quality learning experience in his classroom and on stage.

His highly acclaimed program produces a full-length drama each fall; An Evening of One Acts, which feature the advanced acting class; a set of student plays by Philip Levien’s playwriting class that feature Holmes’ student actors; and the theater arts program teams with the vocal and instrumental departments to put on the spring musical.

The spring musicals Holmes has directed on the San Marcos stage:

» Oklahoma! (1985)

» Guys And Dolls (1986)

» Once Upon A Mattress (1987)

» Where’s Charley? (1988)

» Fiddler On The Roof (1989)

» Can-Can (1990)

» Brigadoon (1991)

» Annie Get Your Gun (1992)

» City Of Angels (1993)

» South Pacific (1994)

» Kiss Me Kate (1995)

» Hello Dolly (1996)

» Bye-Bye Birdie (1997)

» Guys And Dolls (1998)

» The Music Man (1999)

» Oklahoma! (2000)

» My Fair Lady (2001)

» Anything Goes … In Outer Space (2002) [This production toured to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival as one of 30 high schools from the United States.]

» The Pirates Of Penzance (2003)

» Les Miserables School Edition (2004)

» Fiddler On The Roof (2005)

» Carousel (2006)

» The Wiz (2007)

» Damn Yankees (2008)

» Man Of La Mancha 2009

» Grease (2010)

— Marian Azdril is director of Showstoppers Theatre Productions.