HSPVA All-School Musicals: A Long-Standing Tradition

HSPVA’s All-School Musicals are a long-standing and much-loved school tradition. Every fall and spring, students from all six departments (Theater, Dance, Creative Writing, Vocal, Visual Arts and Instrumental) come together to produce the two musicals chosen and announced at the end of the previous school year. All Schools, as they’re called, are a point of school pride and give many students the opportunity to display their talents in an art different from the one they’re attending PVA for.

 Ogechi Nwachukwu (Alyssa) and Aubrey Scarcella (Emma) perform "You Happened."

This year, the fall musical is The Prom, which was nominated for seven Tony Awards in 2019. Based on a real-life story, The Prom is about a queer teenager whose prom is cancelled after her high school hears she plans to attend with her girlfriend, and about the Broadway stars who come to her rescue. Kinder HSPVA is the first high school in Texas to put on a production of The Prom!

They Built The Prom: Cast, from left: Sydney Gibson (Mrs. Greene), Ogechi Nwachukwu (Alyssa), Amelia Diclaudio (Angie), Gentry Lumpkin (Dee Dee), Aubrey Scarcella (Emma), Eliran Masti (Barry), Stefan Herrera (Trent), Jackson Swinton (Principal Hawkins), Comfort Azagidi (Sheldon) and Travon Hector (Ensemble/Dance Captain)

Talking to cast members, junior Eliran Masti says, “My favorite part of being in All School Musicals is the connections I make with people I wouldn’t normally spend time with!” Senior Gentry Lumpkin says she loves making friendships beyond the people in her department. “I also love the collaboration and community involved in creating an All School. It’s a labor of love. Also, the feeling of accomplishment when you finally get to perform!” she adds. 

Sheldon reads the 'Just In' reviews of the Broadway performance of "Eleanor" that are gut-wrenching and career shaming. From left: Amelia Diclaudio (Angie), Eliran Masti (Barry), Gentry Lumpkin (Dee Dee) and Comfort Azagidi (Sheldon).

All cast members auditioned in May of last year and worked tirelessly starting in August to put this show together, rehearsing the weekend before opening night from 9 a.m.-6 p.m. When I asked Ms. Rozie Curtis, Theater teacher and director of The Prom, what she’s most excited for the audience to see after so much hard work, she laughed and said, “The list is way too long! I think I’m most excited for the audience to watch a production that is so student-led and designed. The audience will be blown away by their talent. I am excited for them to experience the energy of this show!”

Barry (played by Eliran Masti) performs "The Acceptance Song" at a half-time monster truck festival.

All Schools are one of the best examples of collaboration across all art areas: from visual artists helping theater students with the creation of costumes, props, and scenery, to dance captains and student directors joining forces in the early stages of production, to the Instrumental students who volunteer their time to play in the orchestra pit. Junior Alex Graff says she loves the collaborative atmosphere All Schools create. “They really help me grow my creativity and love for the arts.”

Ms. Curtis says, in the end, the best advice she could give this cast was that, “As artists, it is a privilege to tell someone's story. That we are honored to take the stage and bring that story to life. If we always focus on that, then we will be successful. Plus, I said, let's have some fun and build a prom for everyone!”