Swampscott Middle Schoolers Make Triumphant Return To Stage

SWAMPSCOTT, MA — Sixty Swampscott Middle School Drama Club students were back on the stage for the first time in more than two years this week with the school's production of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory."

The four-day run of shows, which began on Tuesday and conclude on Friday, is the SMS Drama Club's first since it performed "A Christmas Carol" in December 2019.

The Drama Club was scheduled to perform "Oliver" in 2020, but the onset of the COVID-19 health crisis caused those shows to be canceled two weeks before they began. There was no show last year.

Drama Club Director Erin Condon told Patch the 60 students in the Club in grades 5 through 8 include cast members, stage crew, audio, technical and lightning contributors, costume crew, marketing and fundraising, and directing.

"Because there was so much talent and interest we actually have two casts totaling 30 students each," Condon told Patch on Thursday. "This isn't typical for a middle school play."

Condon said the Club is completely student-led, meaning students choose the play and made all final decisions as a group.

Seventh-grader Reese Mcclure was the director of the production that has been in the works since January and is being performed in the SMS Little Theater with limited capacity.

"They worked extremely hard to make this happen," Condon said, "and there was incredible teamwork involved."

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)