GATE Musical

Thursday was the big day we've all been waiting for: the Thirteen Colonies musical, performed by Cora and a few dozen other high-achieving fourth-, fifth- and sixth-graders. 

The students have been rehearsing for GATE Musical for months, with weekly practices, and then near-daily rehearsals during the lunch break. 

Cora has been a walking GATE Musical advertisement for weeks, singing and dancing around the house. She absolutely soaked in the experience, and was thrilled to have a role as an announcer and dancer in one song. 

She was so enthusiastic, she was chosen to be the universal understudy early on, meaning if an actor was missing during a rehearsal, she might step in. That meant she practiced every day, and every dance. 

Last week, she learned that the boy playing James Madison would be absent on performance day, so she took over that role and an additional dance. You'd have thought she'd won the lottery, she was so excited.

That is why she is dressed like a boy, in her friend's white dress shirt, and why she was especially happy to cut her hair short again.

The students performed twice during the school day, once for the lower grades and again for the upper graders.

Then, we headed back to school after dinner, for the performance for the families.

It looks like they all had fun as they waited in class for their big moment. (Thanks to my friend Cathy for about half of these photos.)

The show opened with Cooper, Cora, Sophia, Ellie and Violet taking turns announcing what the show was about - the beginning of the United States of America. They also explained that it was to be done in the style of readers' theater, with the main actors using scripts on stage.

Then, through humor, song and dance, we learned about America's start, from the early explorers, through the Revolutionary War, to the establishment of the Constitution and Bill of Rights.

Here, Cora is dancing in the song Name That Colony.

Later, Cora performed as James Madison, and delivered a couple of lines about the Bill of Rights. She was clear, loud, and spoke with a smile.

Actually, throughout the musical, I could always pick out Cora's singing voice, and she was always smiling. (Except when she noticed a small child being distracting in the front row. But never mind that.)

Perhaps the acting bug that's laid dormant since her star turn as Dorothy in Wizard of Oz has been reawakened.

Time will tell.





After the show was over, the kids celebrated, posed for photos and helped clean up. We got a few props to take home as keepsakes.

Here's Cora and her buddy Cooper...

... and here she is with her brilliant teacher, Mrs. Shafarman, who directed the show. We all enjoyed the musical so much - it was funny, and all the actors performed well.

Here's Cora, Gianna and Violet, borrowing an Iroquois vest.

I'm sure it brought back many memories for my parents of all the years of watching Melanie in her countless shows.

Afterwards, we went to Baskin Robbins with the rest of the cast for an ice cream and a run-around in the amphitheater. Somehow, we didn't get a photo of Cora and Emily at school, but we rectified that problem. 

Emily is in 6th grade and leaving Meadows in a few weeks; I'm so glad they were able to perform together this one year - Emily had a starring role as Martha Washington. They won't be at the same school again until they're both at Hart High! That's hard to think about... 

Congratulations, Cora, on a job well done. We're so proud of your hard work! We look forward to more musicals in your future.