For performing arts alumni, lessons lasting a lifetime
July 01, 1998
When the curtain came down at Parker
Playhouse Saturday night, so did the tears.
It had been an emotional week for those involved
in the revue dubbed Singing Our Own Song. The show
featured alumni of a performing arts program run by
Joyce Hall and Allen Hill, with the help of band director
Tom Williams, from the late '60s until the early '80s
-- first at Nova High, then at Dillard High and, finally,
at the private Atlantic Foundation for the Performing
Arts. They had flown in from New York, Los Angeles,
Texas, North Carolina and Alabama. So in addition
to a show, it was a reunion of friends who hadn't
seen each other in many years.
Some were professional performers. Others had become
lawyers, business owners, journalists, agents, accountants,
schoolteachers and such. Some hadn't sung or danced
in years. That, and having only a few days to put
together a show, added stress, anxiety and frazzled
nerves to the equation.
Less than a week before the scheduled show, grief
also came into the picture when Fort Lauderdale architect
Robert Hall died after a long illness. Hall was the
husband of teacher Joyce Hall and father of singer/actress
Paige O'Hara.
As the voice of Belle in the Disney film Beauty and
the Beast and one of the program's most prominent
graduates, O'Hara was featured in several solos and
duets in the revue that reprised numbers from musicals
staged by the Hall-Hill group during the years.
But everyone concerned had learned early in their
lives that "the show must go on." And so
the rehearsals and the show did go on -- despite the
head-spinning combination of grief, anxiety, stress,
joy and nostalgia.
And when it ended, the usual post-show letdown was
magnified by the fact that, although there still was
a post-show party and a picnic planned for the next
day, the end of the show was really the end of the
reunion.
So the hugging, kissing, crying and exchanging of
addresses and phone numbers continued well after the
show. Three hours later, in fact, many of the alumni
were still gathered around a piano in the lobby of
the Doubletree Guest Suites, belting out songs and
reminiscing about shows gone by.
As an honorary alumnus, I had
the pleasure of attending the rehearsals, performing
in the show and attending the post-show festivities.
And amid all of it -- the activities, joy, tears,
sadness and nostalgia -- the one thought that kept
muscling its way to the front of my mind was that
this was quite a profound testament to the abilities
and dedication of those three teachers.
"Isn't it amazing what the result can be,"
I told my wife, "when teachers decide to go beyond
what is expected of them."
Thirty years ago, Hall, Hill and Williams had taken
their jobs to a new level at Nova High. Their success
led to the performing arts magnet program at Dillard,
which they initiated. That same success led to jealousies
that forced them out of the school system.
But during that span, they had made such an impression
that, all these years later, their former students
were willing to drop their mostly busy and successful
lives to return for what amounted to a tribute to
those teachers.
What's more, they agreed to put on their tap shoes,
write and learn arrangements and choreography, rehearse,
put on an excellent show and pay for the privilege.
Considering all that, it's not surprising that, when
the curtain came down, so did the tears.
Article reprinted with rights granted from the Sun
Sentinal Co. and Ray Recchi. Thank
you!
Copyright 1998, Sun-Sentinel Co. and South Florida
Interactive, Inc.
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