The past 15 months have challenged each of us in ways that we never could have imagined.
The COVID-19 global pandemic that shut down our schools and communities and forced us into quarantine has led many of us to take a closer look at those things in life that matter the most: family, friends, and faith. It has encouraged us to become more introspective and challenged us in our abilities to truly connect with others within authentic forms of communication. For some of us, our priorities in life have been made more clear and our personal time more precious. For others, there has been struggle and strife over health concerns, property, and prosperity. We have been asked to stretch our bank accounts while stretching our limits mentally, physically, and emotionally. This year’s production offers a momentary reprieve from our current struggles and will seek to reunite, to rebuild, to comfort, and to heal.
Like many of you, I have often found myself reflecting on the past year. We remember the day we left our darkened stages and empty theaters behind and started our journey towards an uncertain future; we remember countless moments of struggle and strife and the dawning hope of restitution and renewal; and today we celebrate our return!
As stated in the lyrics of Beautiful City, “Out of the ruins and rubble, out of the smoke, out of our night of trouble can we see a ray of hope?” I agree with the lyricist, “Yes, we can!”
We are grateful to the Lockport City School District, its administrators and Board of Education for entrusting this year’s musical staff with the responsibility of providing a safe environment for our students while simultaneously challenging our preconceived notions of live theatre with this live-streaming event. We can honestly say, more than ever before, this year’s performance has taught us valuable lessons of perseverance, persistence, and positivity… with a large dose of creativity and technical problem solving thrown in.
Returning to work with these talented young adults after such a long intermission has been uplifting and inspirational. Their compassion and respect for one another is heartwarming and it speaks to the heart and soul of this musical. We hope that their love of music and theatre resonates on screen as much as it is certain to be felt by our in-person audience. Welcome back, everyone!
