By Reed Gabhart, Francis Parker Theater Arts Director
For those of you who were either not at Back-to-School Family Funday on Saturday, August 9, or were busy with some of the frivolity and socializing, I made a BIG announcement about our upcoming Francis Parker Theater Arts season: flanked by Lower School Music Teacher Kim Rash and Assistant Theater Arts Director Parker Neff, we announced our whole season! I can’t recall us ever doing that before — but there was a reason for that (cue the ominous foreshadowing music!).
First, Kim Rash announced the final show of the year, our always-delightful 3rd and 4th grade mini-musical, which this year will be The Aristocrats Kids! I am sure it will be another crowd-pleaser and tons of fun for the kids and audiences!
Next, I announced our middle school fall play, which is a riotous comedy that we did in 2017: You Can’t Beat the House. It’s the madcap story of two inept burglars who try to rob a house only to find out that no one lives in it and it is actually for sale. To make matters worse, they show up just before the realtor and prospective buyers arrive. And it only gets crazier from there as many other characters show up until the unexpected conclusion. Audiences loved this show eight years ago, and I’m sure they will again!
Parker Neff then announced that the high school fall play will be another showcase of student-written and directed 10-minute plays. Parker, a script-writing veteran with many years of Hollywood experience, will be taking the lead on this project, and since he is now our playwriting teacher, his signature will be all over it. This may have come as a surprise to the high school students, as we typically do the showcase every other fall.
Well, there is a good reason for that. At this point, despite all the hoopla at the event, I announced my retirement and that this will be my last year at Francis Parker after 36 years. I have been doing theater for 35 years and have led the program for the past 23 years. I feel comfortable stepping away at this time because I have found the perfect replacement for the theater program: the aforementioned Parker Neff! He proved to be a wonderful assistant last year in every facet of production, and the students loved him right out of the gate. I feel fully confident handing over the storied tradition of our program to Parker, and I know he knows I will have my eyes on him from afar! : )
But first, we have a whole year of shows to create!
And that brings us back to the season. With Parker heading up the Showcase of Plays, I will be free to begin working on our spring season early. At this point I told the crowd that I thought it only fitting that I go out with a “bang,” and so instead of doing a high school spring play and a middle school musical, we are going to do ONE GIANT SHOW! And that show will involve the Lower School choir and actors from both the Middle and High School! At that point, Kim, Parker, and I linked arms and asked the audience to join us in song as we belted out, “We’re Off to See the Wizard!” We are incredibly excited to bring this most magical of musicals to life, involving all three divisions of the Francis Parker community. And we will need a lot of help! Six families have already signed up to help with the production. More information will come on that as we start rehearsals in late October and perform the show March 5-8.
In a very special anniversary year for Francis Parker, this will be an incredibly memorable farewell for me, and a show I hope will live on for years and years in the students’ and your hearts.
