Modern problems call for modern solutions and Bridgeport High School is one of hundreds of theatre troupes around the nation to find a bright spot among the isolation. Despite practicing for months, it seems that the BHS theatre’s spring musical, Seussical, will be indefinitely postponed due to the current pandemic.

 

Only two days into the isolation, junior Wesley Cotter found a post by Tony Award-winner Laura Benanti that invited high school students to showcase their talents on a virtual stage by posting their musical numbers and tagging her.  

 

Benanti, who won her Tony for her work in Gypsy, first posted the invitation to her Instagram followers, empathizing with the students whose shows were cancelled.  In the post, she mentions how lifesaving high school musicals are for so many students and let the young performers know she wanted to see them and hear them and celebrate their talents.

 

Cotter immediately uploaded a performance of BHS performing a musical number from Seussical to Bentanti with the requested #SunshineSongs.  Responses poured in from all over the country, with over 4000 hits within the first two hours.  Now at nearly 9000 hits, it was featured on Inside Edition's YouTube channel highlighting spectacular student performances from all over the country.

 

“It’s so awesome that this opportunity presented itself to validate our work and allow us to reach audiences that we might never have been able to before,” said Cotter.  “It means so much that someone who is so famous remembers what it is like to be in our shoes and has given us this unconventional platform in which to perform.”

 

For those who would like to see Cotter’s post, go to https://twitter.com/wesleylcotter/status/1239177806686359554?s=21

Benanti’s social media also hosts clips from other talented high schools from across the nation.