The arts are alive and well at Staples High School.
This morning’s post highlights the upcoming Players production of You Can’t Take It With You.
Earlier this week, first-year choral director Luke Rosenberg produced a spectacular spring concert. A variety of groups — chorus, chorale, choir and Orphenians — sang sophisticated, challenging music.
The international program featured selections in Latin, Swahili, Zulu, Hungarian, Latvian, Spanish and Hawaiian (!). There was an American spiritual, a complex Indian raga, and the powerful final number: Billy Joel’s haunting “And So It Goes.”
Staples media lab instructor Jim Honeycutt made a 12-minute highlight tape. Click below (or here) to enjoy the hard work and great talent of scores of Westport teenagers.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for posting this! Just what my soul needed right now.
About seven or eight years ago I went to the high school graduation ceremony of an old friend’s daughter in a nearby town. One of the class speakers talked about her experiences as a musician at the school and basically said that her one regret was that so much attention was devoted locally to the sports teams and athletes (at the expense of other activities).
I think Staples and the town of Westport have achieved a much better balance, and it’s readily apparent that the arts programs are very much appreciated here.
1936 original production of “You Can’t Take It With You”. Is there something wrong with the more recent plays?
The music was wonderful. The funny connection is that I graduated from Staples in 1967 – But my husband (Joe Connolly) grew up in Woodhaven, Queens – right next door to Jim Honeycutt. Small World!
Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful!
Dan, thank you so much for posting this. What an ambitious, beautiful program! And Luke walking off for the final Billy Joel number, leaving them to showcase their ensemble ability, was brilliant. I’ll not miss the next concert.