School Musical Gets Rave Reviews From Silicon Valley and Broadway

NEW ROCHELLE, NY — New Rochelle High School students and faculty found a way to bring a community together in a time when gatherings were prohibited — their efforts caught the attention of Cupertino and the Great White Way.

When in-person learning was interrupted because of the coronavirus pandemic, New Rochelle High School drama teacher Anthony Stirpe used iPhones, iPads and Mac computers to help his students completely reinvent the annual high school musical.

Unable to stage the play live, Stirpe turned this year’s production of the Broadway musical “Is There Life After High School?” into a months-long project that incorporated student actors, dancers, the school orchestra and even parents.

Former students volunteered to help direct. Scenes were filmed both at school and in the students’ homes, with their parents as added cast members.

A major scene filmed in the virtual production was filmed at New Rochelle High School and featured parents lining the halls as Stirpe moved past them, capturing the families' joy and well wishes on video. The moment caught the attention of Silicon Valley tech executives.

The production was recently featured by the company as an example of how technology helped to bridge the gap between students and their peers during the pandemic. Stirpe told Apple that while technology made the production possible, it was the students and their families who made this year’s musical unforgettable.

“It was important for our students to have the rite of passage of staging a spring musical,” said Stirpe. “We brought it to life in probably the most unique way possible.”

Olivia Dower, a student at New Rochelle High School, credits the musical with giving her and her classmates a sense of connection in a challenging year. (Apple)

Jeffrey Kindley, who wrote the Broadway musical 40 years ago, agreed with Stirpe's assessment. After watching the New Rochelle High School production online, the playwright wrote to Stirpes to laud the one-of-a-kind production.

“You created something spectacular in our year of lockdown limitations," Kindley wrote. “You found ways to use the intimacy of iPad and Zoom to focus on private moments and make them instantly relatable. It’s odd to be moved by your own words when you wrote them four decades ago, but it happens when talented people bring them to life again."

New Rochelle High School teacher Anthony Stirpe spent months reimagining how to stage the musical “Is There Life After High School?” in a new way. (Apple)

Despite the best efforts of the parents and the school, students at New Rochelle High School missed a lot because of the pandemic. Proms and school dances were canceled, sporting events and extracurricular activities were limited and, in many cases, schoolmates were isolated from each other for months, but a unique high school musical helped to bring back a small sense of normalcy.

“Mr. Stirpe is obviously amazing for creating this for us,” cast member and recent graduate Olivia Dower told the Apple newsroom. “He has just done an incredible job at banding us all together, figuring out a way to do this during COVID-19 and creating those moments where we can have the fun that we’ve missed from the last year.”

“Is There Life After High School?” is available for viewing online through June 27. Tickets are available for a donation of $10.