Down a Long Yellow Brick Road
March 17th, 2008
Scott and I saw closing night of a high school production of “The Wiz” this Saturday. I’d never been to a high school production before, and wondered what Smalls and Brown would think about their production performed by these kids.
For the most part, it was what you would expect from a high school production, but there were three things that really stood out for me that night:
a.) The actress playing Dorothy, Carly Valentin, blew everyone away! No one could keep up with her, and she basically carried the show on her petite shoulders. Carly had been on “Showtime At the Apollo, ” twice. She has performed for former politicians.
Carly’s obviously already been wowing audiences for quite some time. On a sweet and humble note, in her bio she wrote: “Carly would like to thank her family, friends, and boyfriend for believing in her and pushing her to audition for The Wiz.”
b.) The second thing I noticed was that there were FORTY FIVE, yes, 45 students on that stage for curtain call. That’s not even including the pit… As a former teacher, I was floored and amazed that the Director and AD were able to get all those kids together at once, and get the best out of them.
c.) We found out that there was no budget for this production. The school employees and the cast (with help from family and friends) raised the entire budget themselves. (Over $8,000 dollars.) They had been working since September to raise funds for three nights of performances.
And it’s really this last point that stuck with me. That’s dedication to theatre if I ever saw it, and it’s awe inspiring!
I have a feeling these kids will remember this experience and take it with them wherever they go as they “Ease on Down the Road” of life.
–Sue
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2 Comments Add your own
1. David Rosenblum | April 22nd, 2008 at 6:22 pm
Sue-
Your blog is sophisticated, personal and refreshing, a pleasure to read whether its during a ‘down time’ or an ‘up time’. You’ll never go wrong by listening to your heart.
DSR
2. Carly Valentin (Dorothy) | October 28th, 2008 at 2:01 pm
Thank you so much for the wonderful things you said. I know i’m REALY late on this one but i just came across this blog entry today. Our school really did work hard and our director Mr. Jared Moskowitz really truly worked hard and cared about us a great deal. You were definitely right about us always remembering the experience.
P.S. who are you? .. did you just go to see the play for fun or did you know someone at the school?
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