Adam Kaplan Carries The Coleytown Company Banner

As a Bedford Middle School 8th grader, Adam Kaplan played Curly in “Oklahoma!”

A snowstorm postponed the show a month.

In that time, puberty hit. His voice changed. He sang in a different key than he’d rehearsed just a few weeks earlier.

That’s one of the perils of middle school theater.

Here’s one of the joys: Kaplan found a passion for performing. He became a Staples Players star. After graduating in 2008, he headed to Broadway. Kaplan played the lead role of Jack Kelly in “Newsies,” and was in the ensemble. He starred in “A Bronx Tale,” the national tour of “Kinky Boots,” and “Show Boat” with the New York Philharmonic.

Adam Kaplan (carrying a castmate on his back) strikes the same pose as on the Nederlander Theater door. 

It all started with middle school theater. Westport’s 2 programs are outstanding, and change many lives besides Kaplan’s.

But it does not come cheap.

Sets, lights, sound, directors, licensing fees — they all add up.

So on February 2 (7 p.m.)., Coleytown Company presents “Carrying The Banner: A Broadway Concert.

The evening — in support of the troupe’s March production of “Newsies” — features 4 original cast members from that show, with a live professional band.

One of those performers is Adam Kaplan.

“Middle school is brutal,” the actor remembers. “Hormones are raging. Kids are kids. Everyone is trying to figure themselves out. The arts are a safe space to do that.”

As arts funding is slashed across the country, Kaplan is proud that Westport continues to provide a “safe haven for kids who maybe don’t feel welcome in other areas,” at both the middle and high school levels.

At Staples, he “lived, breathed, ate and slept” the Players program. He made friends, hung out there, acted in shows like “Beauty and the Beast,” “Romeo and Juliet” and “The Diary of Anne Frank” — and helped build the website and develop the online ticket portal.

After Staples, Adam Kaplan made his mark on Broadway.

Now he looks forward to paying it all forward.

Kaplan went to Bedford, not Coleytown. His directors were Kevin Slater and Karen McCormick, not CMS’ Ben Frimmer.

But Kaplan has worked often with the Coleytown Company director. And, hey — middle school is middle school.

“Westport supported me and my friends,” he says. “The fact that I can come back to Westport, with castmates who were part of the original Broadway show, speaks to how much we care.”

Those cast members are familiar with Kaplan’s home town. During the Broadway run, he’d bring them here after the Wednesday night performance. They’d spend Thursday and part of Friday with Kaplan and his parents, then head back to New York.

After a “Newsies” performance, but still working.

Kaplan will not go right back to the city after the “Carrying the Banner” show. The next day, he’ll do a workshop with the Coleytown Company’s “Newsies” cast.

It won’t be his first. He’s done similar “Newsies” workshops with schools across the country (and a US Army base in Italy). The chance to do one in his hometown is extra special.

“I remember when (Players director) David Roth brought in artists to work with us,” Kaplan says. “It was one of the coolest things in the world. Doing it here is like coming full circle.”

Next month’s fundraiser is produced by Frimmer. He’s working with Broadway music director Mat Eisenstein (“Newsies,” “Frozen”) on this show. It features songs from “Newsies,” and other hits.

Proceeds will support costumes, sets, lighting, sound and more for Company’s spring production, along with future needs. Click here for tickets, and more information.

Staples Players produced “Newsies” in 2017. Adam Kaplan (front row center, blue shirt) joined the cast at rehearsal. (Photo/Kerry Long)