Family, friends, and faculty watched as the fourth and fifth grade chorus of the Catherine Kolnaski School performed School House Rock Live! Jr. May 28 and May 29 in the auditorium.
School House Rock Live! Jr. is a part of The Broadway Junior Collection, and all the materials and the special arrangements for kids were authorized and supplied by Musical Theatre International of New York. Between the enthusiastic faces, detailed choreography, and songs, the audience couldn’t stop clapping throughout the performances. Also taking in the shows were students from Kolnaski school’s sister school, Pleasant Valley Elementary School, and about 50 elderly residents from different nursing homes.
Director and producer of the performance and Arts Integration teacher at Catherine Kolnaski Robin Crandall stood proudly near the back of the room among the crowd as she watched the finished product on stage.
“We were really pleased with how the performances went,” she said referring to herself and other teachers that have helped her throughout the process of putting the production together. “For us, this was a bigger performance than usually found at the elementary school level, and there was more rehearsal time invested.”
Casting and rehearsals for the show began in early February. Crandall said the teachers taught the selected fourth- and fifth-grade chorus program students the words, notes, and steps they needed to know for the performance to come together.
“It was interesting, having everything going on at the same time,” she said laughing. “I looked for a show that would allow me to work with a small group of leads and have a dance team that could work separate from the leads. [Schoolhouse Rock Live! Junior] actually fit that bill nicely...The other reason why I chose the show obviously was because it integrates so well with what we do in this building, which is to try to teach regular curriculum through the arts. It was just the perfect mix for us in a number of different ways.”