Fourth grade students from across St. John, as well as those who take classes at St. John School of the Arts, will take to the stage Feb. 18 in an original musical called “Dream, Wish, Believe.”
The show will be performed at 6 and again at 8 p.m. at the Westin Resort and Villas ballroom. The 6 p.m. performance is a fundraiser for the School of the Arts scholarship fund.
“The 8 p.m. is free or whatever anyone wants to give,” Ronnie Lee, School of the Arts vice-president and event organizer, said.
Tickets for the 6 p.m. performance run $200 each. The ticket includes the performance, a champagne reception and dinner at a St. John restaurant. The number of tickets is limited to 100.
Raffle tickets are also on sale, but only 200 will be sold at $100 each. The prize is a three-night stay for two in New York including airfare, hotel and orchestra seats to “Chicago,” “La Cage aux Folles” and “Priscilla Queen of the Desert.” The package also includes dinner at Sardi’s and Etcetera Etcetera.
The students who will participate in “Dream, Wish, Believe” will have an opportunity to develop new skills and confidence while providing entertainment for the community.
They are spending the next two weeks studying singing, dancing, acting, puppetry, and production with five Broadway professionals to prepare for the show.
“It provides arts education on an island starved for it,” Lee said.
Those five include John Tartaglia, a Tony Award nominee for his role in "Avenue Q," one of the youngest cast members in the TV series, "Sesame Street." Others are Michael Shawn Lewis, who performed in “Phantom of the Opera” and “Nine” and regularly teaches youth through a New York-based non-profit; Donna Drake, an original cast member of “A Chorus Line,” will choreograph and teach dance along with Rhonda Miller, who is a choreographer on the faculty of the Broadway Dance Center. Laura Barnao will teach singing.
Tickets are available at Chelsea Drug, Connections and from the School of the Arts and its board members.
Further information can be obtained by calling Lee at 774-7724.
