This year’s spring musical, Legally Blonde, was canceled due to coronavirus-related New York City public school closure. It was a necessary precaution to ensure public safety and maintain social distancing, but the cancellation has been hard for many students involved. The musical, set to open the first week in May, was a creative outlet for students and, for many participants, the only musical theatre they have access to all year. It is a loss for all students involved, from actors and stage crew to pit musicians. 

There is certainly a sense of bitterness for the seniors who will not have the chance to properly say goodbye to their second family at Curtis or take a final bow on the Curtis Stage. Jody Santiago Williams, a senior who’s been a member of the pit orchestra for previous musicals at Curtis, can attest to this. He says, “It’s really devastating that I can’t sit down on that drum throne one last time and have a blast with the cast, and being unable to walk up that stage to receive a rose leaves me with a forlorn feeling.” 

While the remote learning program at Curtis has created an online platform for students to continue their academic endeavors, many have found that they lack an artistic and creative outlet that they once had in extracurricular activities. Now, students must find new ways to stay creative. Brianna Shaw, a senior member of the Curtis Players, looks on the bright side of staying creative. “Our production is on pause, but it doesn’t mean that we have to stop being creative. For me, this quarantine has humbled me. Every day I am adapting to this new way of life in a positive light, and channeling my art through other outlets.” 

Hope is not yet lost for the Curtis Players. Ms. Fugate, the director of the show, is working hard to find a way to go on with the production while staying within the boundaries set by quarantine. She hopes to fill this space that many artistic students feel is holding them back and find a way to keep her cast creative. She says she is ready to be “active, creative, and have fun.” She plans to have the cast record a couple of songs on their own that she will edit together with the help of her colleague, Mr. Barranca. She will try to release this video by May 1st, which would have been opening night. She hopes it reaches a big audience of Curtis Players fans. She says this will be a “really neat thing to do to keep [the Curtis Players] creative.” 

More than anything, it is important for the members of the Curtis Players to “keep it positive” (no pun intended) and recognize Ms. Fuagte’s efforts to keep the show alive. As Joshneil Ferguson, a senior with the Curtis Players put it, “Although I do value the time spent, this process as made me cognizant of the fact that life can really change in an instant and it is imperative that we treasure and live life to the fullest.”