This spring, the St. Petersburg High School theater department presented a phenomenal production of Little Women the Musical. The director of the show this year was the drama teacher, Ms. Broughton. This was her first musical as an instructor at St. Pete High. Ms. B describes the direction of a musical as “more challenging” because it has “so many different components that [she found] challenging and fun.”  She loved being able to incorporate the band ensemble and the choir teacher, Mr. Lawhead. 

Originally, Ms. B says that she was drawn to the theater because it was “a place [she could go] to not worry about all the bad in the world.” This allure is the reason she loves to teach theater to her students today. She believes that “theatre has always been a place for everyone, not just one type of child, so [everyone] can find a place.” Ms. B believes that theater has the ability to help everyone because “it is a great place to find your voice, even if you use somebody else’s to say the words you want to say.”

This musical was able to bring together all kinds of people to collaborate. For example, Alejandro Gonzalez is a junior who performed in Little Women to play the role of Rodrigo and perform as an ensemble cast member. This musical was his first time performing on the stage. He was convinced to audition by Ms. B in his theater class and “[did not] think he got a role”. However, “to [his] surprise, he did get a role, and “the rest is history after that.” His biggest surprise when joining the theater program was “how many amazing and genuinely good people [he met.]” He described the cast and crew as “not just a team, but a huge family.”

One of his favorite moments from the show was performing with Bryan Shedden, his scene partner who played the role of Braxton. In the fall, Alejandro went to see the St. Petersburg High School theater production of Game of Tiaras. His favorite character in the performance was played by Bryan, so it was “mind-blowing how full circle things [came]” when he got to perform on stage with Bryan months later. 

After this outstanding production, we can expect many more remarkable shows from the St. Petersburg High School drama department.