NORTHAMPTON — Act One: The vibe outside the Academy of Music Theatre in Northampton Thursday night was more Broadway than academic as soon-to-be graduates of Pioneer Valley Performing Arts Charter Public School and their families gathered on the theater’s lawn and promenade in “opening night” anticipation.
Visual arts major Noah Baldwin of Springfield, in cap and gown, snapped photos of as many classmates as he could with his Canon Rebel T-7.
“Made so many friends,” he said. “I transferred from another school, sophomore year. I learned a lot about life. I never would have had such rich experiences in my previous school.”
One of those posing for Baldwin was dancer Caroline Hollander of Hadley, who credits the school, and one teacher in particular, for changing her life.
“When I came here I had absolutely no idea who I was,” she said. “People are so accepting here. My teacher, Haley Pearl, taught me so much about my life, that there’s nothing wrong in being openly gay. I had a lot of ups and downs, but she just showed me a different way, how to adapt.”
Hollander, like the rest of her 61 fellow grads, was practically robbed of her junior and sophomore years by COVID-19. “Everything on Zoom, holding my wall as if it was the (ballet) bar. So challenging to choreograph online.” Coming back, she said, “I still felt like a sophomore. But we immediately snapped back in — we all so wanted to be back.”
Then, with a sweep of her hand, “I can’t believe we’re actually here!”
Once inside, the storied theater’s stage didn’t quite look like a graduation ceremony, with keyboards, amps, congas and the PVPA House Band in the pit below, launching into Chicago’s “25 or 6 to 4” as the 61 grooved down the aisle to their seats.
“We’re here!” cried Head of School Brent Nielson. “In style, like PVPA was meant to do it!” He, like many, mentioned March 13, 2020, the date when everything changed. “Then came the killing of George Floyd. Things like that were nothing new, but there were more people at home watching the news.”
Act One featured three senior class speakers.
“The heartbeat of this school lies with the teachers,” said Drew Wherry, who’s planning to be one herself. “Whether it’s a dancer, actor, or attorney in mock trials, there’s a place for you in this world. Life is too short not to put yourself out there.”
Sofia Getoff-Scanlon marveled at how students in different disciplines “never failed to cheer each other on. There’s nothing coming your way that you’re not ready for,” she said.
Of the pandemic, Kaelyn Benoit said, “It happened, it ruined a lot of things but we survived it. Remember the sound of your best friend’s laugh, bask in the sunshine, and chase that childhood dream and hold onto it tight.”
“You are artists, you are very special people,” said keynote speaker, artist/activist Andre Rochester of Hartford. “As an artist your job is to shift the mindset to create change in the atmosphere. When it gets hard that’s when you go harder.”
As diplomas were handed out, and grads strode across the stage, the student body lustily screamed for each one, sort of a personalized curtain call.
Then came the Second Act when the Class of 2022 let it all out in a slate of performances, from the meaning-laden short films of Zoe Jane McClelland and James Noblewolf to the feather-boa clad trio of Natalia Jacobs, Greta Muellner and Nyasia Aguirre belting out “Ex-Wives” from the musical Six. There was Quana Carter’s cello-driven hum of Beyonce’s “I Was Here” and the throbbing licks of Nahamani Morgan’s bass guitar on Thundercat’s “Them Changes.”
The lush jazz of Will Van Horn’s “Lost My Mind” was evoked, featuring Patrick Conway’s innovative striking on the pedal steel, then Amos Koyama captured the lyricism of Jimi Hendrix’ axe on “Little Wing,” no easy feat. The irrepressible Leo Tymeson conjured the vocals and piano of Ben Folds on “Kate” and even looks like him, while Jacki Childs gave a stomping, lights-out performance of Nirvana’s “Smells Like Teen Spirit.”
But the showstopper had to be “A Million Dreams” from The Greatest Showman. Zaida Streit and Jaileen Aguilar began their duet in the wings, opposite each other, drawing closer with each breath. The melding of these two powerful voices had many a parent dabbing their eyes and put screaming classmates in a state of ecstasy.
This was theater, worthy of the magnificent building that shook from it.