The Show MUST Go On!

The Pajama Game - Cast A

What a night we had Monday night at our Pajama Game rehearsals. The kids had a 5 hour dress rehearsal (they have opening night on Friday) for their "A" cast. I stayed at rehearsal because I like to take my own photos, as opposed to buying photos (at 50 cents a piece). Anyway, long story, but we had breakfast with my parents that morning around 10am....we ate so much, I really couldn't bring myself to eat again before I left to take the kids. So, about 2 hours into rehearsal, I thought about going to grab something to eat and coming back....I just couldn't bring myself to leave the high school where we rehearse...and it was a good thing I didn't.

Just after we finished the first act, our director came out from back stage and said (to her husband - up in the sound booth), "I need you to call 911 right now!" I thought to myself, oh great, who hurt themselves now! Then she made eye contact with me, probably because I was in the front of the theater....but at the time, I thought it was because one of MY kids had hurt themselves. Thank goodness no, but the next phrase didn't settle my stomach any. She said, "We have some people (young men) outside who are smashing windows in....they say they have a gun! We need to get all the children into the green room now!" I have to say that as quickly as panic set in, so did all the experiences I've had teaching school with all the drills I've endured. (You may remember that I have a "curse" when it comes to "events" at school if you've followed my blog for a while.) Anyway, all the parents in the building quickly herded all the children into the green room and had them hide behind the curtains that line the walls in the room. The kids did really well, many were very scared, but almost all of them refrained from crying or becoming hysterical.

None of us knew what was happening outside, but we did know what several cast members had seen and heard before this time. There are several cement tables and benches in the courtyard outside the stage door. The vandals had tipped a few over and then used the large piece of stone (that used to be a bench) to smash through windows at the school. Our fear at the moment was that they were possibly thinking about coming into the building and hurting the kids. We didn't know whether they actually had guns or not. The door that leads from that courtyard to the side of the stage was unlocked, and no one (nearby) had keys to lock that door; thus, the kids hiding behind curtains.

We stayed in this "lock down" situation for about 10 minutes....it seemed like an hour, but it wasn't....until the police came and gave us the "all clear" signal. They arrived too late to catch the guys that were responsible, but from what I was able to gather from the scene afterwards, they did have a very strong suspicion as to the identity of the young men. In fact, the parents of the vandals were on site within the next 30 minutes. I heard the police officer say "suicide note" which made me a bit concerned for the mental health of the vandals. Anyway, it was a scary thing for everyone involved, but we are thankful that no one was hurt. There was a bit of damage to the high school as you can see from the photos below. I was very thankful that I hadn't left the building when I did because I wouldn't have been there to comfort Julia. I was able to contact Jonathan while we were "locked" down, and he drove all the way up to our location to make sure we were all okay.

It's hard to tell, but if you look closely, you can see the smashed-out windows in the courtyard.

These are the cement tables that were knocked over. One of those benches became a ramming device which the vandals used to break out the other windows. The window in the background is also broken (glass all over the ground). It's easier to see the broken window where the tinted glass is missing along the white blinds.

Within 15 minutes of being released from their hiding places, all the kids were back on stage. It was good to see them bounce back into character after this event. Hopefully, opening night and the rest of the performances will be much less eventful.

Julia is leaning on her elbows (in the middle of the 3 girls). Jourdan is wearing a hideous outfit (as was required for the role - the director's specific directions were "it should be painful to look at you") and a fedora.