Good evening! Welcome to Stukey's performance of The Little Mermaid, Jr. We are so happy to have you in our audience tonight for this amazing production!
This is the first time I have had the privledge of directing The Little Mermaid and it was been a wonderful experience.
I am so very proud of all my students who are performing in this show! They put in countless hours of practice to help ensure that this production is a success! We have been practicing since the middle of January and since the begining of April they have been practicing for an average of about 12 hours per week! Their dedication and committment is remarkable and you will see their abilities and talents shine through in tonight's performance. I also want to give a special thanks to my former students who are performing in and helping out with this show. I appreciate all of you!
Izabella, Andrew, Meridith, Ian, Maria, Yaritza, Melina, Thalia, Andres. Our 5th graders! Some of you have been with us since kindergarten and some just this year. The memories we have made together are amazing! I hope you all know how much I appreciate all of you and the contributions you have made to the music and theatre programs at Stukey. I wish you nothing but the best in middle school and beyond. Please come back and visit when you can. Thank you for always bringing your best to Stukey!
Deb, Raelene, Helen, Mary, Taylor, Gerard and the rest of the Stukey staff. Thank you for always supporting our programs over the years. We couldn't do it without you! The performing arts culture at Stukey is truly unique. It fosters something in students that many other schools simply don't offer. Thank you for supporting my passion for music and theatre and for taking the journey with us!
A special thank you as well to Northglenn High School. We are so grateful to be able to perform on your stage once again. Thank you to all who helped to make this happen. And a word of thanks to Marci for renting us many of the props and costumes that you will see tonight. Also many thanks to all who supported our show by donations of time and money. It is very much appreciated!
I also want to say thank you to all the parents and family members of the students performing is this show. We couldn't do it without you! Thank you for your support and for letting your kids be a part of this experience!
And finally, a very special thanks to my wife Marta, my son Danny, my father and mother in law, Dan and Merlene and the rest of my family for all their support throughout the years. I can never thank you enough! Also to my parents Craig and Marolyn for giving me the opportunity to pursue my passion of music and theatre and for being my role models as fellow musicians. I love you all!
I remember when The Little Mermaid came out I was about 11 years old and I didn't really think much of it at the time. However it is a film that has remained relevant and has had a resurgance as of late with the new live action movie version. The characters are great and the music top notch! The story of a girl who through her differences and the support of her family and friends finds happiness. Isn't that what we all want! Of course she encounters some unpleasant things along the way, but this is all part of her journey, much like many of ours. This Disney story and so many others have defined parts of our culture now for 100 years!
I truly hope that you enjoy watching these amazing students on stage tonight. They are doing something that is different and magical! Music changed my life and I hope through this experience and others that it has changed theirs as well. I know it has changed many of your lives too!
With peace and love,
Chad Sheridan
