Bye Bye Birdie Comes Alive on LMS Stage

A piece of Broadway came to Wellwood Avenue recently as the Lindenhurst Middle School students presented their version of the classic musical Bye Bye Birdie.

The play was the 17th put together by Lindenhurst Middle School PTA Directors Marie Simmons and Karen Kanavas.

Besides bringing theater to the Lindenhurst community, the play gave more than 100 students the opportunity to learn acting, choreography, costume design, set production, singing, dancing and other aspects of what it takes to produce a theater show. Superintendent Richard Nathan, who’s an avid theater and concert attendee, personally appreciates the arts. He attended the performances that took place at the beginning of April.

“Just like athletics, participation in arts by our students enhances their lives,” Nathan said.

He continued: “The bottom line is the middle school production involved one hundred students…having a good time.”

One of student actors was eighth-grader Kelly Dietz, who started acting in the sixth grade. She played the lead role of Kim Mcafee.

In addition to Bye Bye Birdie Dietz’s resume includes playing a Sharpette in High School Musical 2 and Molly in Annie and winning the most recent Lindy Idol competition.

Dietz eyes lit up when she talked about her accomplishments and what she’s gained from it.

“As an individual I can open up more on stage – I can be more bubbly,” she said. “As a group I feel we are connected like a family, and also it’s so important to be together and work well together.”

Middle School Principal Frank Naccarato has seen first-hand how his students have built relationships from working on the production.

“One of the best things about this is they get together sixth- to eighth-graders, and they’re friends,” Naccarato explained. “Now when you see them walking in the hallway instead of being the lonely sixth-grader, an eighth-grader will say, ‘Hey, how you’re doing,’ and they’ll shake hands…They sit together in the cafeteria, so it changes the atmosphere in the school.”

Students who become involved in school plays and musicals like Bye Bye Birdie must also be dedicated as each production takes months to put together, Naccarato explained. The productions are also open to all students sixth to eight grade.

Production on Bye Bye Birdie began in December. Students worked three hours for three nights a week. So, after months of hard work, there’s great sense of accomplishment.

As a result of the months-long process, Naccarato said, “All the students become more confident. I have kids who were sixth-graders who were afraid to come out from behind the curtain become eighth-graders that had leads,” he said.

But will future cutbacks damper this development?

Naccarato is positive it will not. This being the 17th production done by the school, he’s seen the program grow from little to big sets, he said.

“When you cut the arts, you cut all of the classes the students were mandated…English, Science, Social Studies, and use it practically…You’re cutting out practical use. It doesn’t work that way…You got to have it,” Naccarato said.

Parents would also not want to see these programs go away. “It’s very helpful for kids to expand their horizon on different things,” said Roxanne Barr whose eighth-grade daughter Seline played Mrs. Johnson.

Then there’s Ishmael Mohamad, a friend of Barr’s who traveled all the way from Central Islip to see the performance. Mohammad, who has a background in the arts, understands why it’s so important.

“Kids need to identify themselves, and also identify a purpose in life because it’s important for them to develop creative ability from the inside out, as opposed to the norm of society and media imposing on them what they can be from the outside in.”