Notes from the Director
In early March of 2020, our cast and crew for Northwood Drama's production of Oklahoma were busily putting the finishing touches on our show, which was scheduled to open on March 19, 2020. On March 12, 2020, one week prior to opening night, we received notice that we would be going into quarantine for six weeks, and therefore our show would need to be postponed. As we all know very well, that quarantine ended up lasting a bit longer than six weeks, and we ended up needing to cancel the show altogether. I will never forget the heartbreak I felt having to deliver the news to all the kids who had worked so hard on their beautiful production of Oklahoma for five months, only to never be able to perform.
With the cancelation of our 2020 production, 2021 being a year of virtual learning, and significant social distancing restrictions still being in place last year, this year’s production of Disney’s Descendants the Musical is our first chance to be back with a live Northwood Drama production since 2019. To put it in perspective, the cast and crew for our last live production, High School Musical¸ are now juniors and seniors! I am so happy that this is the show we get to present to you for our first show back! This show has everything that makes musical theatre enjoyable – fun, catchy music, great characters, and a beautiful message of inclusion and showing love and compassion for all.
I am so proud of the cast and crew of Descendants. Since it has been so long since a show has been on our stage, most of our cast and all of our crew have never been involved in this type of production before. They have been working so hard to learn their various roles and come such a long way since we started putting this show together last November.
I would like to dedicate our production this year to the cast and crew of 2020’s Oklahoma. I know that many of you have found your way back to the performing arts, whether it be through acting, singing, dancing, or learning a technical theatre craft, and some of you have found other new interests and hobbies. Whatever you are doing now, I hope that it brings you joy. And despite our ultimate inability to perform Oklahoma, I hope that the memory of your experience as we prepared for the show is a fond one.
Thank you to everyone for coming out to see our production! There is something truly special about the experience of live theatre. As Prince Ben says many times throughout Descendants, we’re better together.
Enjoy the show!
Brittany Todd
Director, Northwood Drama
