There has been so much creativity during the pandemic. People trying to find ways to keep some normalcy through a trying time for so many.
Cedar Hill High School Theatre Program is taking that creativity to the next level with their upcoming performance of “The Wiz,” because as they put it, the show must go on.
"My music director and assistant director were like we need to do this show for our community because we have been trying to get more community buy-in for our program,” Cedar Hill High School Theatre Arts Director Bethan Kennedy said. “The kids deserve larger audiences and they deserve to be recognized more and so we always look at who we have and the student body and see if we have the kids to pull it off.”
Kennedy credits the students with the willingness to continue to push through even in the toughest circumstances. “The Wiz,” which is a 1974 adaptation of “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,” had an all-Black cast when it debuted. That play eventually became a movie.
“It was important for us to pick a production that was indicative of the students we had,” Kennedy said.
"It means that no matter what, we can come together as a theater family and do something creative and still create art. We just have to adapt and do it safely,” Kennedy said. “These kids have worked so hard for this. We want the community to see that so we can get even more buy-in from them to continue to support these kids.”
For the directors and the students, this was about so much more than just a show after a year of preparation.
Local
The latest news from around North Texas.
“I always hope and you just have to believe as long as you want it that much, we are going to find a way to come through and we are going to make it happen, I just got to believe,” Senior Jacobie Thorton said. “There’s like two songs in the show talking about believing in yourself so we just have to believe."
The show opens Thursday, Jan. 28 at the Cedar Hill High School Performing Arts Center before a limited crowd due to COVID-19 safety precautions.
