Welcome to Hendersonville High School’s Taylor Swift Auditorium and thank you for joining us today. Anytime I hear someone talking about Fiddler on the Roof, the song “Tradition” immediately comes to mind. Not only is it the first big number in the show, but it is the basis of the plot of this musical. The show is set in the early 1900s in Czarist Russia, and tells the story of Tevye and his wife, Golde, who have five daughters. Tevye and Golde attempt to maintain religious traditions, even though the world around them is changing. Rich in historical and ethnic detail, Fiddler on the Roof's universal theme of tradition cuts across barriers of race, class, nationality, and religion. It is also about change.
As many of you know, I have decided to retire at the end of this school year. It has certainly been an incredible journey throughout these past thirty plus years. We have achieved such great heights and become one of the premiere theatre programs in the Middle Tennessee area. When my last day finally arrives and I walk out of the theatre doors, I will be able to look back with pride on what we have accomplished.
I am looking forward to traveling and spending more time with my husband, children, and grandchildren. However, I will never forget Hendersonville High School and the incredible student actors I have been privileged to teach and direct. I will miss all of you.
Thank you, parents, for your support and encouragement. Thank you for the honor of teaching and directing your children.
Mrs. Kerhoulas-Brown, Technical Director, thank you for your support through the years we have worked together and especially for the sets you and Stagecraft have designed and built. I am going to miss you but know you will continue to produce quality presentations and will grow the Theatre Department even more.
Kaileigh Bullard, Choreographer, thank you for sharing your incredible talent through dance. I appreciate all the hours you put into planning and teaching of the choreography. You are amazing!
Dr. Gary Wilson, Choral Director, and Chris Segar, Orchestra Director, thank you for sharing your music expertise. It has been great working with you both and hearing the fruit of your labors as the cast and orchestra come together to present this incredible musical.
To my husband and “unofficial” Assistant Director, Bernard, thank you for our 50 plus years of marriage and for being there for all the productions at HHS. Without your love and support I couldn’t have made it.
To the cast - It is always bittersweet for me at the final performance, but how much more this year as I am closing my final curtain as the Musical Theatre Director here at HHS. This theatre has been my second home and I couldn’t ask for any better place to fulfill my directing dreams.
