Video screenshot of virtual choir

Article used with permission by the Twin Cities Sun newspaper.

Article by Melissa Lang

Picture caption: Covid-19 has kept Tonawanda High School’s spring musical from making it to the stage. But thanks to ongoing virtual rehearsals like the one captured in this screenshot, the cast and crew remain ready for opening night – whenever that might be. Sophomore Paige Janas is second from the left in the top row; junior Sarah Maxwell is second from the right, also in the top row.

When Dan Lynch, head of Tonawanda High School’s theater department, chose the spring 2020 musical some months ago, he had no idea how prescient a selection it was.

Because his pick, a student version of the Broadway hit “Rent,” tells the story of young artists, struggling to secure their creative dreams amid the personal devastation of a pandemic.

The show was set to debut March 19 for a four-day run. But as Covid-19 closed in on Western New York, the district indefinitely postponed all public events with more than 50 people. That announcement came on March 12, a Thursday, and by the end of that weekend, all Erie County schools were closed through most of April, and now the middle of May.

Lynch and his fellow teachers had to deliver the March news to their students – 50 cast, crew and pit members who’d been working on the production since December. It seemed in that moment they’d all toiled in vain. The show – which is set in Manhattan’s East Village, during the AIDS crisis of the late ‘80s – wouldn’t be debuting in a week’s time; in fact, it may never see an opening at all.

“It was so abrupt,” choral director Amanda Urbaniak said. “Then it felt really heavy. It was such a difficult conversation to have with the kids. I remember the room just went silent.”

Junior Sarah Maxwell, who’s playing lead character Mimi, recalled it much the same way.

“I was feeling very negative about it all,” she said. “When you’re with people for four hours every single day, they become like your family. And to go to just … nothing. It’s sad.”

But the collective melancholy didn’t last long.

“None of us on our team, the students included, are quitters,” Lynch said. “Our next thought was, ‘OK, we’re going to keep going, as normally as we possibly can.’”

And now, Lynch and Urbaniak’s performers have their own “Rent”-like backstory. All young artists, determined to persevere in the face of a pandemic.

In true theater fashion, the show must go on -- albeit electronically. The group gathers weekly using Google Meet, the cast records rehearsals through Flipgrid, and Lynch calls together online movie and game nights to maintain camaraderie. He also organized a virtual performance of the musical’s best-known song, “Seasons of Love,” a recording of which was posted on YouTube. The video showcases the cast, each member sitting at home – but capably harmonizing as a chorus.

“It’s interesting to see students in class who may be struggling with their schoolwork, missing assignments and not being able to keep up their motivation, which is hard enough for adults to do right now,” Urbaniak said. “But their participation is at almost 100% for our virtual meetings and rehearsals. Being in the musical, it’s connection. A sense of belonging.”

Sophomore Paige Janas, cast in the role of Mrs. Cohen, agreed.

“When it was first announced that we were putting it off, I was really upset – that was the one thing that was keeping me happy,” she said. “Then when we started doing it virtually, I got back into the mindset of, ‘OK, no matter what, we’re going to do this show.’”

Indeed, Lynch’s goal, besides providing his students with some healing continuity amid the chaos of Covid-19, is to get THS’ “Rent” before an audience – eventually, that is.

The team built the set itself and made all the costumes. That means they’re beholden only to themselves – and with just three of the 50 students set to graduate in June, they have the option of waiting, however long they need to, for their curtain call.

“If we have to do it next school year, we will,” Lynch said. “So much money goes into a production, we have to sell tickets. If we don’t have that income, it will impact the future of the program.”

But for Lynch and Urbaniak, the potential budgetary fallout isn’t nearly as troubling as the thought of squandering the uncommon effort their students have put forth.

“We saw so much growth in all of the cast, for this show in particular,” Urbaniak said. “We have kids in leading roles who maybe weren’t prior to this. They worked so hard, they deserve a chance to perform it. We’re committed to making that happen for them.”

Lynch, who has helmed the school’s Kenny Award-winning theater department for the last 11 years, said Covid-19 is presenting educational challenges unlike any he’s experienced.

“Nothing compares,” he said.

But Maxwell, for one, said she’s choosing to find the practical life lessons in this otherwise extraordinary time.

“I’ll never again take for granted spending all day with the people I love,” she said. “And wash your hands.”