Does It Get Any Better ...

... than Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice performed this morning by our sixth grade boys? The musical didn’t stop moving from opening act to the final scene—breathtaking! Joseph's father, Jacob, played convincingly by Christopher V-R. favored Joseph and gave him a multicolored coat as a gift; as a result, Joseph, played handsomely by Patrick B. and Aidan S., was envied by his eleven brothers who saw the special coat as a sign that Joseph would assume leadership of the family. The rest of the story can be found in Genesis—the plotting of the brothers against Joseph, Reuben’s (played by Henry T.) interposition, the throwing of Joseph into the pit and the secret plan to rescue him later; the twist in Reuben’s absence, and the later discovery of Joseph in Egypt.

I’m not sure if I’ll ever fully recover for the intense stress experienced by my abdominal muscles when “the King” or should I say Pharaoh, aka Felix S. burst onto stage after a perfect, suspense filled, lead in—the accent, the drama, the singing ... the moves!

It was a masterful performance by the entire cast, especially the “unique and appealing” choreography by Maureen McCallister, our visiting professional. Who knew the boys could dance and move so fluidly, and with such purpose. Congratulations to all!

P.S. The night before the performance, my son at dinner, who had seen the dress rehearsal the day before asked, “Dad, what was Elvis doing in Egypt at the beginning of time?” What could I say but, “Elvis is everywhere, Max, everywhere!”

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OLIVER!

This morning our fifth graders continued a great year-end tradition at Saint David's, The Fifth Grade Musical. The boys performed Oliver! and they were fantastic, providing impressive performances and demonstrating great vocal ability. They have been mastering the dialogue and musical numbers for weeks, and clearly gave it their all. Congratulations to the cast on a job well done, and to their Producers/Teachers James Hubbard and Jamie MacNeille, Director Phyllis Clark, Musical Conductor Jeff Moore, and the Parent Committee of Cynthia Chapman, Susan Kissane, Tara Neumann, Joyce Restituto, and Ann Roberts. Musical theater is alive and well at Saint David's!

Sixth Graders Meet with Dr. Carter Emmart, Director of Astrovisualization at the American Museum of Natural History

Dr. Carter Emmart with Saint David's Sixth Graders This past Friday, as part of our unique partnership with the American Museum of Natural History, sixth graders had the great honor to attend a private lecture given by Carter Emmart, Director of Astrovisualization at AMNH. Dr. Emmart told the boys about his passion for science along with an overview of the history of the Hayden Planetarium. He also gave the boys advice on how to take scientific information about the universe and compile it into an interesting and captivating show for an audience. The boys were able to see Dr. Emmart's original sketches, which helped create the Uniview program they are using to develop their presentations. The session provided our boys with an opportunity to learn how art and science come together in the planetarium, and to obtain expert advice on developing their own space shows from one of the creators of Uniview . You can learn more about Dr. Emmart's work and Univie...

Tales of a Good Man

"Sometime in the midst of all this, we became friends. And his story, and all its vast world passed into mine." --From the Introduction of Blood & Oil by Roxane Farmanfarmaian. "Stories are so important; they become traditions that tell about the good that often comes out of bad experiences..." So began Roxane Farmanfarmaian's fascinating talk Monday night at Saint David's Seventh Grade Father-Son Dinner. Dr. Farmanfarmaian, Affiliated Lecturer of Modern Middle East Studies at the Political and International Studies Department at Cambridge University, was introduced by her nephew, Saint David's seventh grader Cyrus '17. She spoke to the seventh grade boys and their fathers about what makes a "Good Man" through the prism of her book Blood & Oil : A Prince's Memoir of Iran from the Shah to the Ayatollah (Random House 2005), which she co-authored with her late father, Prince Manucher Farmanfarmaian. The memoir i...

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