A Musical Return To Normalcy For East Brunswick Students

EAST BRUNSWICK, NJ — Students from East Brunswick High School's drama club are excited to step on stage after a long gap.

The musical "Little Women" will open this week, and students are geared up to put their best foot forward. The musical is based on Louisa May Alcott’s classic coming of age novel.

“It's a newer musical — it came out in the late 90s, early 2000s. But it is one of my favorites,” said Jeffrey Davis, acting teacher and director at East Brunswick High School (EBHS).

“It's a beautiful piece based on the book and I did it six years ago. And this year, I was trying to find something that kind of matched the makeup of drama club and this fit perfectly.”

Since the pandemic began in 2020, East Brunswick drama students were deprived of the opportunity to stage a play for the community. Two years ago, students were at dress rehearsal when they were sent home due to the pandemic shut down.

“We were sent home for what we thought would be two weeks. And we never came back,” said Davis. "The next year, we tried to videotape something, but it didn't quite work out. So, this is the first musical we've done since we were sent home.”

Auditions for the musical were held in December and rehearsals began Jan. 3. Students have been involved in every aspect of the musical — acting, tech department, props, costumes. Every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. students come in to work on the musical.

While the actors practice their parts, student crews build the set. “Everything you see on the stage was made by the kids; except a couple of backdrops which we rented,” Davis said.

Roughly 60 students have been involved in the musical – 29 cast members and the remaining crew. Praising the students for their dedication, Davis said “drama club kids are the best.”

“These kids are so dedicated, it's incredible. This is what brings them joy and being able to do it again means so much to them and to me. Acting for an audience is what gets most of these kids up in the morning and gives them their place of joy during the school day,” Davis said.

The teacher hopes community members come in large numbers to show their support to students, who are just looking for a sense of normalcy after a tough couple of years dealing with the pandemic.

“Students are living through trauma. That's why I'm so happy we're doing the musical this year, because it brings a sense of normalcy,” Davis said.

“They’re all traumatized and it's going to show itself in strange ways. So they have this thing that gives them hope and joy. It's been really great for them. And they are relearning how to put on a play.”

“Little Women” the musical is written by Allen Knee, lyrics by Mindi Dickstein and music by Jason Howland.

The musical will open on Friday, March 11, 7 p.m., at the East Brunswick High School auditorium. It will be staged on March 11 and 12 at 7 p.m. and March 13 at 3 p.m.; and on March 18 and 19 at 7 p.m.

Tickets are priced at $15 for adults and $8 for students and seniors. To purchase tickets, click here.

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