Middleton Street Elementary School is one of 20 schools nationwide taking part in “NBC’s Smash: Make a Musical” program.
Students are rehearsing for their first musical at the school, which may not have the money to continue putting on the shows.
“My first thought is that they’ve made remarkable progress,” said Timothy Allen McDonald, iTheatrics founder.
Middleton's fifth and sixth grade students have been under the watchful eye of the longtime Broadway writer for two months.
“I don’t have any other hobbies or ways to express my feelings,” said Ricardo Valladares, sixth grade student. “I’m really happy doing this.”
The school’s music director said this musical has made a major impact in the childrens’ extracurricular lives.
“They come from backgrounds where it is not prevalent in our community,” said Claudia Zuniga, music director. “And for them to be experiencing this for the first time, it’s been a real joy for them.”
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Neither the students, nor the music director have experience in musical theater. Thus, the show, “Suessical Junior,” is a new, exciting challenge. But, the school’s first musical could end up being its last.
School administrators said categorical money once used to fund arts positions is no longer allowed. Zuniga, the nine-year teaching veteran of the school, will be out by June.
For now, the show must go on.
“What you see when the kids perform is that they are engaged,” McDonald said. “Their minds are engaged. Their bodies are engaged. Their spirits are engaged. It is so difficult to get kids to be free and structured all the time.”
McDonald said that there are advantages to having extra-curricular activities like this in childrens’ overall education.
“The way you do better on standardized testing is that you give kids other outlets other than studying for tests,” McDonald said. “The arts are a great way to do that. Athletics are a great way to do that.”
The students seem to enjoy learning new skills, as well.
“We have to sometimes memorize music and it sometimes helps during school because if we have a spelling bee, we have to know how to spell the words,” Valladares said.
The school has applied for a grant and had fundraisers to try and raise money to keep the program alive.
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