BCAT News

The Burlington School Committee approved the Marshall Simonds Middle School to put on a musical theater production, a break with the traditional model of funding and supporting new school clubs to support the vision of newly appointed Principal Tim McMahon. 

McMahon explained on Tuesday that after an inventory of after-school activities at Marshall Simonds, some $23,000 in allocated stipends for faculty advisors was going unused due to clubs that weren’t running or were running at a limited capacity. About half that money, he said, could be spent on directors of music and choreography for a musical production. The rest would remain available if some clubs go back online due to increased student interest. 

“We have tentative dates, we’d hold auditions in late February, rehearsals in March, and performances at the High School in May,” he said. 

Members of the School Committee expressed support for the plan, but some worried about possible hurt feelings or unfair treatment associated with the production. 

“There can be a lot of hurt feelings because some kids don’t get to be involved,” said School Committee Chair Christine Monaco. “You’ve got your hands full with the emotional piece of it.” 

“We talked preliminarily about choosing a musical that has a big ensemble, because we have students that require wheelchair accessibility, and this could be an all-inclusive event for them as well,” McMahon replied. He also suggested he would be open to a talent-show or vaudeville type of production at a different time of year to allow for kids whose passion and talent at performing might not necessarily fit in the musical model. “To your point, having a forum for all kids to showcase their talents, because some of them don’t fit the musical genre. Some of them can breakdance or sing a non-musical type form might not have their niche in a musical forum. And an event like this could be big.”