Take Your Pick Of High School Drama This Weekend

Devotees of the limelight will have to make some choices this weekend and next as Richard Montgomery, Thomas Wootton, and Rockville High Schools are presenting plays.>Rockville High School Theater will be mounting a production of High School Musical, starring Rockville High School students complete with a pit orchestra. The Saturday show is ASL. Admission is $5 for students, $10 for Adults. Tickets at the door.

Friday, April 16 at 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, April 17 at 7:00 p.m.
Sunday, April 18 at 2:00 p.m.

And, the Richard Montgomery High School Black Maskers theater troupe is presenting Thoroughly Modern Millie. The author of the play attended a rehearsal and gave it his stamp of approval. Tickets available here.

April 16 & 17 at 7:00 pm
April 18 at 2:00 pm
April 22 at 2:30 pm
April 23 & 24 at 7:00 pm

Last but not least, the Thomas Wootton High School Center for the Arts is putting on a production of Bye Bye Birdie. (Use the form at the link for tickets, or go to door.)

April 16 & 17 at 7:30 pm
April 18 at 2:00 pm
April 23 & 24 at 7:30 pm
April 25 at 2:00 pm

If you work it right, you can see all three!

Thanks to Rockville Central friend John Cooper-Martin for making sure we knew about the shows.

Historic West Bank Story Performance

>“A little singing, a little dancing, a lot of hummus” is what you’ll get from this “musical comedy set in the fast-paced, fast-food world of competing falafel stands in the West Bank”.

The first stage adaptation of West Bank Story, the 2006 Oscar award winning film by Ari Sandel with music by Yuval Ron, will be performed by students at Wootton High School this Thursday, June 4, 2009 and Friday, June 5, 2009 at 7:30 PM.

Actor Mattia D’Affuso invited me to preview the performance. My behind-the-scenes peak showed a dedicated group of students intent on bringing a message of peace to our community. Their portrayal is certain to move you. Mattia plays David, an Israeli soldier, who falls in love with the beautiful Palestinian cashier Fatima, played by Jessica Futran. Despite the tension between their families who compete for restaurant patrons, the two struggle to be together.

Salah Czapary directs this completely student-run adaptation. The scenes transformed during rehearsal due to his obvious talent and all of the actors enthusiasm and spirit.

Different acts including dance groups, storytellers, and singers will entertain during the first act then after intermission, West Bank Story will be performed. Several peace organizations have been invited to set up booths in the lobby to pass out information.

Ambassadors are planning on attending this historic event, including the 2nd Secretary of the Egyptian Embassy and the 1st and 2nd Secretaries of the British Embassy. Don’t miss out on your opportunity to join them!

Will the couple succeed in overcoming all the societal barriers and hatred and wind up together? Since I wasn’t able to watch until the end and I haven’t seen the film, I’m very curious! Tickets are $5 and will be available two hours before each show at the box office. For information email [email protected] or call 301-452-4178.

Beauty & The Beast: Cappie Worthy at Wootton

>This past weekend’s performances of Beauty and the Beast burst from the stage in a professional and intensive production at Wootton High School. Chosen by the Wootton Center for the Arts as their Cappie nomination for the year, they pulled out all the stops in hopes of receiving awards from the student critics.

When Jessica Futran began to sing as Belle, my first thought was that her vocals must have been prerecorded, which didn’t seem possible because you could tell the other performers were singing live. Then I finally accepted the obvious, she was moving around the stage effortlessly with a perfect voice and tremendous talent. All her scenes were touching but the intimate gestures and voices in No Matter What with Alex Garretson (playing her father) put me on their side. This scene introduces the storyline and we learn they are simply not like everyone else. Another stand out performance was delivered by Mattia D’Affuso as a truly convincing and animated Lumiere. The entire cast was strong with obvious hard work and excellent direction from Adam Graham and Carla Ingram, who mention in the Director’s Note that they both have girls and “spent countless hours in front of the Disney Princess series of movies”.

The set’s bold-graphic background and bare-twisted trees were enhanced by the detailed paintings of objects brought to three-dimensional life. All the choreography of the large cast unfolded in a fast-paced flourish, especially the wolves frightening bounds in the dark forest. Elaborate costumes rented and owned by the company matched any imaginable theater production creating a rollicking, delightful display during Be Our Guest. My little seven-year-old noticed the changes occurring to the magical inhabitants of the Beast’s castle as they became less and less human. The musical reminded me of an impressive fireworks display when each moment must be the finale, yet it keeps going to even greater heights.

While reading one of her many beloved books, Belle daydreams about a happy ending. This show delivers it. You can still be amazed by this student production next weekend at 7:30 PM on March 27 & 28, and 2 PM on March 29, 2009. $15 for reserved seats. $10 general admission in the back and side sections.

Police: Former Wootton Teacher Sold Drugs To Students From Home

The> Gazette reports today that a former Thomas Wootton High School English Teacher, Theresa Cunningham Duarte, was charged on Monday with selling cocaine to students from her Brice Avenue home. Duarte had been a teacher at Wootton from July 2004 until the end of last school year, when she resigned.

She was charged Monday with two counts of “distribution of a controlled dangerous substance” and two counts of “contributing to conditions of a child,” according to the Gazette.

Police say they believe more students may have been involved than just the ones Duarte was charged for selling to. A spokesperson said it was unlikely the students would be arrested.

Anyone with more information is asked to call Montgomery County Police Department’s Family Crimes Detective K. Carvajal at 240-773-5400.

Read The JJ Express

Thanks to our friends at the >Gazette, we learned about a nascent literary magazine aimed at the 9-16 set, produced by a brother-and-sister duo who got their start at Wootton High School.

It’s called JJ Express and it’s refreshingly a real magazine — you know, the kind you can hold in your hands. Subscriptions cost a low low $21 per year and you can easily subscribe online at this link (which I encourage everyone to go do right now).

The magazine is soliciting work from artists and writers — go here for guidelines — as well as ideas for youth-centered activities in the community.

The magazine was started as an informal thing by Jenny and Jack Chen and it soon grew into more. Now it’s had its first honest-to-goodness printed issue (Winter 2007-2008) and getting ready for the next.

Here’s how JJ Express describes itself:

JJ Express is now the new, children’s magazine for children ages 9-16 years old. It is unique because it revolves around a collection of comics/cartoons created by professionals and amateurs alike. These are supplemented by articles, activities, and stories that promote youth today to explore the possibilities in the world we live in and take responsibility for the home that we will inhabit for decades to home.

Jenny and Jack have helpfully posted a video that gives more insight into their philosophy behind the magazine:

JJ Express is supported by a grant from Youth Venture, which is an organization dedicated to promoting positive change among youth.

(Image from JJ Express.)