A Little Bit of Broadway (05-05-08)

This article comes from the perspective of not only a principal, but is also that of a parent. An incredibly proud parent.

Last Tuesday, our town was treated to yet another Hill City Music Department Dinner Theater. This is my second experience with this Potter Production Spectacular, and I can say that on this evening, the kids really outdid themselves. The theme for the night was Broadway and movie musicals, and the kids were encouraged to dress as their favorite character. Our high school gym was filled with cowboys and greasers, princesses and witches, and there was even a human sized tea-pot floating around the stage.

I found this theme to be a stroke of genius. Without having to rehearse an entire play, the students were able to pick a chose numbers from a wide range of shows. They were able to dazzle us with their musical abilities, in costume and in character, transporting the audience to New York City and transforming our gym into a Broadway theater.

What I saw and heard made me so proud to live in this town, work for our schools, and to support our music department. I found the music to be perfectly matched to the performers to showcase individual strengths. Our musicians seemed to be thoroughly enjoying themselves as they belted, crooned, and harmonized to both well known and lesser-known musical numbers.

One such musical was Wicked, the behind the scenes story about how the Wicked Witch of the West, and all the characters in The Wizard of Oz came to be who they were at the time Dorothy and her little dog blew into town.

The songs performed from this somewhat obscure Broadway production made me the most proud as a parent, patron, and principal. First and foremost, I was thrilled to be the father of one of the performers. My daughter is a huge fan of Wicked, after being introduced to the musical by my wife, who herself is quite the Broadway buff. When Lacy first told us that she wanted to perform a duet from the play, I thought it was risk. I worried that Mrs. Potter would want her to attempt something more conventional, maybe something from the well-known Wizard of Oz.

My worries were for nothing. Not only did Mrs. Potter embrace the choice of Lacy and Miki Bellerive, she helped them with the recorded accompaniment, and tirelessly worked with them in hour after hour of rehearsal.

Needed to say, my wife and I were more than a little bit proud of our daughter as she danced and sang, and assumed the likeness of her character. We were thrilled that she was given a chance to do her thing, given a chance to wear a costume and have her hair done, given a chance to perform in character alongside a friend decked in black robes and green skin, the very image of the wicked witch as a teenager.

Through my daughter and her friend, the audience got to see part of a musical many had probably never heard of before - I myself had never heard of Wicked until six months ago…the musical is only five years old. But not only did the audience get to see something new, and not only did our town get a major dose of culture, but we also got to see our kids at their best, doing what they love in front of people who love them.

So now, as a happy administrator and as a proud parent, I want to say, “Thank you Mrs. Potter!” Thank you for giving our kids the opportunity to take risks and for your incredible patience and hard work to help prepare them for success.

Thank you for bringing a little bit of Broadway to Hill City. My family, for one, will never forget this magical evening.