Broadway Style 'Quest' Comes to Flocktown

Replace stadium seating and ushers with a gym floor and classroom teachers, and it would be easy to think turned into the home of a Broadway show on Thursday.

“The Unexpected Quest,” directed by music teacher Tara Postigo, took to the stage and included all of the school’s fourth graders, taking the audience on a humorous adventure through history.

The show, lasting nearly 45 minutes, showcased harmonized chorus singing, narratives and skit acting involving six leads, with dozens more role players for individual scenes.

The lead characters, whose journey began after an accidental science lab experiment took them back in time, were: Roger, played by William Klika IV; Wanda, played by Madeleine Boyd; Lisa, played by Leah Gorman; Devon, played by Tyler Lis; Jenny, played by Klaudia Podgorna; and Tina, played by Allison Farley.

The purpose of the play wasn’t just so kids could entertain, or be entertained, rather to educate each other on different parts of the world and cultures in far away lands.

From Egypt to Italy and China, songs and skits depicted cultural differences mixed with various costumes and lessons learned by the characters.

Roger, the most knowledgeable of the group, made it clear to the audience that he knew so much because, as he said, “I read… A LOT.”

Veteran Showmen

And while this may have been the first time on stage for many of the students, if not all, they took the acting and singing in stride, and didn’t miss a beat when something was amiss.

As the journey weaved through Italy, the explorers met up, unexpectedly, with Michelangelo, who was in the fifth year of painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome.

Michelangelo, with his head stuck staring upward at the ceiling, briefly lost his taped-on mustache, but continued with his lines and made his stage exit per the script. The audience–and cast–had a great laugh to go along with the lesson.

“I hope you know how special of a place this is,” said Principal Michael Craver to the audience of third and fifth grade students. “Not all schools get to do these things. This is a great example of hard work.”

“That was pretty amazing, right?” Postigo asked her cast and crew after the show. “This is what 100-percent effort, 100-percent of the time turns into. Anything is possible when you work at it.”

The students and supporting faculty members worked on the show since the fall, Craver said, and the production was put on three times in two days; once for the Kindergarten, first and second graders; another for the third and fifth graders; and a night performance for family and friends.

“A-ma-zing,” Postigo said to the students before dismissing them. “I’m so proud of you!”

So, the next time you consider battling traffic and paying high costs for a Broadway show, check out your local elementary school’s music class.

You won’t be disappointed.