Performing Arts News: Highlights from “Schoolhouse Rock” Musical

Spring was a busy and rewarding time for Performing Arts at Latham. In May, our students presented “Schoolhouse Rock Live! Jr.”*, a one-act, full-length musical. Featuring music from the 1970s cartoon, the students sang and danced their way through 11 musical numbers and almost 50 pages of script. Highlighted performers were members of the Latham Stars on Stage Club, who practiced for four months with a goal of memorizing their songs, scripts, and choreography. Through hard work, determination, and support, they achieved their goal and performed on May 17th without the script in their hands! Latham classes also participated, singing and dancing with style through classic numbers like “Conjunction Junction” and “Interjections.”

Our Instructor of Performing Arts & Wellness, Sarah jane Mason, Music Therapist-Board Certified, guided the production and expressed her appreciation to our students, staff, and the funders of the spring musical.

“Almost every student contributed in some way, be it on stage or painting props and sets. It truly was a community and team effort all around our Latham campus,” Sarah jane said.

Produced with generous support from the Federated Church of Orleans and the Arts Foundation of Cape Cod, the performance was a celebration of the unique talents of our students through theater, music, dance, and art. Sarah jane noted that the musical experience helped the students to know what they can achieve with hard work and practice, and that they can overcome obstacles to shine on stage. For some students, memorizing the script was the achievement while for others, merely having the courage to stand up in front a crowd of people was worthy of applause.

Thank you to our donors as well as Brewster Baptist Church, Wind Screens Inc., and the Latham volunteers that helped make this show possible!

*Schoolhouse Rock Live! Jr. was presented with special arrangement with Music Theater International (MTI).