Students Perform Original Musical: ‘The Band’

ERMA — Teenage angst is universal and has been portrayed in “West Side Story,” “Bye Bye Birdie” and a slew of the other Broadway musicals.
It has a new portrayal, “The Band.” Inspired by the television series, “Glee,” students from Lower Cape May Regional High School and the Richard M. Teitleman School performed an original musical written by Eliot Bailen, entitled “Band,” Wed., Nov. 2 for a student-only audience.
The program was provided by the Mid-Atlantic Center for the Arts Humanities’ (MAC) Cape May Music Festival Educational Outreach Program
Bailen worked with Lower Cape May Regional’s Theater Manager Paul Mathis and students and developed the concept of the show. Students worked on the storyline and Bailen wrote the original score. The show was 45 minutes long.
Two plot lines run through the show, a male student who won’t practice a trumpet solo for an upcoming high school orchestra performance and a female student who is pushed aside by another to sing a lead vocal number.
Along the way there is a car wreck, detention, a failed test and a nearly ended relationship.
“The purpose of this program is to give kids the opportunity to perform, help them understand musical forms and the building blocks of music, and to help teachers satisfy the core curriculum standards,” said Mary Stewart, MAC’s chief outreach officer.
Bailen is a member of the New York Chamber Ensemble, the Chamber Ensemble in residence for the annual Cape May Music Festival, now in its 23rd year.
This program was made possible by grants from Target, The Horizon Foundation for New Jersey, and the New Jersey State Council on the Arts.