It’s become a familiar headline: In survey after survey of student achievement, Singapore ranks at or near the top. The US is far down the list, nestled between an emerging nation no one’s ever heard of, and a land filled with nomadic herders.

Of course, Westport is not an average American school district. Now a special partnership is helping our educators learn from Singapore’s best — and vice versa.

A $100,000 Singapore National Institute of Education grant is funding a comparative study of how 2 top-performing school districts — Westport and Hwa Chong — help students prepare for 21st-century life.

Last week, the Westport 2025 Task Force – 40 teachers and administrators working with Columbia University’s Teacher’s College to sharpen students’ critical thinking skills, and solve real-world problems — hosted 5 educators from Hwa Chong. It’s an elite institution: a hybrid public/charter school, combining high school and a junior college, for the top 3% of Singapore’s students.

Hwa Chong Institution.

Next fall, researchers from Singapore and Teachers College will observe math, science, English and social studies teachers at Staples and Hwa Chong. Last week’s visit to Westport laid the groundwork for that partnership.

The 2 days showed there’s common ground between school systems that seem on the surface to be worlds apart — and not just geographically.

“I think we have very similar values,” says Lis Comm, Westport director of secondary education, research and professional development.

“We both talk about 21st-century skills and capacities in terms of communication, creativity and critical thinking. They talk about ’5 minds’: disciplined, ethical, creating, respectful and synthesizing. That’s exactly what we talk about too.”

Staples High School

Comm said the Singapore educators shared ideas like sabbatical research projects, in which teachers and students design week-long mid-year courses for other students around their passions.

Hwa Chong also hosts a yearly convocation of Nobel Prize winners. That might be more difficult for Westport to pull off.

The Singaporeans, meanwhile, were impressed with the way Staples students work collaboratively to solve real-world problems.

“They saw teachers asking thought-provoking questions, and kids responding with multiple interpretations,” Comm says. “The Singapore educators said their teachers could learn about how our students don’t just consume knowledge, but apply it.”

The guests from overseas were treated to a lunch made by Staples culinary students — a course not offered at Hwa Chong. The educators were awed too by the child study, graphic arts, theater, library and radio and TV production facilities and classes, and the prevalence of digital media throughout the school. Each visitor was given a DVD of Staples Players’ recent production of “A Chorus Line.”

The Hwa Chong courtyard, site of morning flag-raising ceremonies.

“Collaboration is always good, and when you extend it to a top-notch school in another country, that’s amazing,” says Staples English instructor and 2025 task force member Julia McNamee.

“There were so many initiatives at their school that were intriguing. We will get ideas from them, as well as the energy that comes from working with really different ideas.”

McNamee notes that Westport’s “more eclectic mix, from our student population to the US’s broad commitment to human rights and equality of opportunity,” would be part of our contribution to the partnership.

James D’Amico, Westport  social studies department head for grades 6-12, adds, “I think we will get some impressive benchmarks to use in our reflections of our educational programs, and lots of ideas about how a school and programs can be structured differently.”

The Staples courtyard, during a “Pops Music” concert.

“I think Westport can contribute expertise in how we shape education for individual students, and how students’ ability have choice in their educational experience can energize them to perform in the classroom and in co-curricular activities,” D’Amico adds.

“Both sides feel very happy about this partnership,” Comm says. “There’s a warmth and common understanding on both sides. We feel very comfortable with each other.”

In 1958, a Staples student named Christopher Lloyd urged English teacher Craig Matheson to start a theater program. The 1st play — produced in the brand-new auditorium, in the school’s 1st year on North Avenue — was You Can’t Take It With You.

Over the next 55 years, Staples Players gained national renown. Under just 4 directors — Matheson, Al Pia, Judy Luster and now David Roth — the troupe has sparked the careers of David Marshall Grant, Bradley Jones, Michael Hayden, Leslye Headland, Justin Paul and countless others (including Lloyd).

Now — with an astonishing 12 seniors ready to major or minor in some form of theater next year in college — Players is putting the finishing touches on its next production.

It is — fittingly – You Can’t Take It With You.

Michelle Pauker, Jack Bowman, Bryan Gannon and Madeline Seidman grill Clay Singer in the upcoming “You Can’t Take It With You.” (Photo by Kerry Long)

In 1958, Matheson’s fledgling actors chose the Pulitzer Prize-winning comedy as their 1st show.

“I had no idea how to mount it, how to bring it down on a stage that large,” Matheson recalled years later. “I did very well from an acting point of view, but as a production director I stunk. The set was much too large, so the play lost its intimacy. And it was pink, so it looked even bigger.

“We put it on for one weekend, and were very glad to get an audience both nights. But people thought the show was fine.”

The 2013 production will be quite different. For example, it’s in the intimate Black Box theater (named for Matheson and his predecessor/Roth’s mentor, Pia).

The audience will sit on 3 sides of the stage, making it — well, intimate.

The cast and crew includes 9 seniors who will continue with theater in college: Tyler Jent (Cincinnati Conservatory of Music), Matt Kresch (Northwestern), Grace McDavid-Seidner (Point Park), Adam Mirkine (NYU), Michelle Pauker (University of Miami), Alexandra Rappaport (College of Charleston), Brianna Reedy (University of the Arts), Ryan Shea (UConn), Clay Singer (Carnegie Mellon) and Will Smith (Muhlenberg).

Tyler Jent is one of many Players who honed his acting, voice and dance skills at Staples. (Photo by Kerry Long)

Not in this show, but like those 10 also hoping to make theater their career — as actors, directors or in tech — are Will Cohn (University of North Carolina School of Arts) and Liam Orly (Muhlenberg). 

“We provide a place where students can be challenged. It’s a safe environment to become theater artists,” Roth says of his program.

Roth has produced several shows with lots of dancing. The seniors have honed those skills — and it’s paid off. “Lots of schools have tough dance auditions,” Roth notes.

“We’re not a high school of performing arts. But we try to expose our actors to a broad variety of plays.”

Bryan Gannon and Madeline Seidman in “You Can’t Take It With You.” He is a junior; she’s a senior headed to Williams College — and the Class of ’13 valedictorian. (Photo by Kerry Long)

Roth calls You Can’t Take It With You “an old-timey farce. We really haven’t done anything like it with them.”

Cast and crew have found it “a huge amount of fun to rehearse,” Roth adds.

Presumably, just as Craig Matheson’s Players did, 55 years ago. Back in the days when dreams of Broadway had not yet danced through Staples’ sparkling new auditorium.

(“You Can’t Take It With You” runs Thursday, Friday and Saturday, May 30, 31 and June 1, at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, June 2 at 3 p.m. For more information, including tickets, click here.)

The arts are alive and well at Staples High School.

This morning’s post highlights the upcoming Players production of You Can’t Take It With You.

Earlier this week, first-year choral director Luke Rosenberg produced a spectacular spring concert. A variety of groups — chorus, chorale, choir and Orphenians — sang sophisticated, challenging music.

The international program featured selections in Latin, Swahili, Zulu, Hungarian, Latvian, Spanish and Hawaiian (!). There was an American spiritual, a complex Indian raga, and the powerful final number: Billy Joel’s haunting “And So It Goes.”

Staples media lab instructor Jim Honeycutt made a 12-minute highlight tape. Click below (or here) to enjoy the hard work and great talent of scores of Westport teenagers.

On the final night of Staples Players’ production of “A Chorus Line” in March, Marvin Hamlisch’s widow came onstage.

Terre Blair Hamlisch thanked the high school troupe for their magnificent staging of her husband’s show. Then she made a surprise announcement: She invited Players to perform at a benefit concert, celebrating his life and work.

The event is 8 p.m. Monday, June 3 — the day after what would have been the legendary composer’s 69th birthday.

Players are in good company. The all-star cast includes Joel Grey, Robert Klein and Bernadette Peters.

But the Staples students won’t be the only area representatives at the Hudson Theatre. Also appearing: Weston’s Lucie Arnaz, and former Westporter Michael Douglas.

Staples Players: one singular sensation. (Photo by Kerry Long)

(For ticket information, click here.)

It was an invitation Staples Players could not turn down.

Awed by the high school troupe’s March performance of “A Chorus Line,” Terre Blair — the widow of Marvin Hamlisch — invited them to perform at an American Cancer Society benefit.

The event was held yesterday — the day after what would have been the composer’s 69th birthday — at New York’s Hudson Theater. They shared the stage — and were applauded by — legends like Bernadette Peters, Joel Grey and Robert Klein.

Staples Players can point to many memorable moments in their 55-year history. Last night’s stands at the top of any list.

Photographer Kerry Long captured a few of the many highlights:

Staples Players receive instructions from the stage manager.

Reacting to Broadway stars’ sound check.

Donna McKechnie — who earned a Tony for “Cassie” in “A Chorus Line” — reprises her role, backed by Players.

Players director David Roth (left) with Joel Grey. The Broadway star is known for his role as the MC in “Cabaret” — also played by Roth, in the 1st Players production of that show.

Staples Players perform “One” on the Hudson Theatre stage.

A key “Chorus Line” moment.

“Jersey Boy” John Lloyd Young performs “What I Did For Love” with Staples Player Michelle Pauker.

Staples choral director Luke Rosenberg (left), Bernadette Peters (red hair) and Broadway’s “Annie” (Lilla Crawford, front) pose with some of the Players cast. Will Smith (far right) was the evening’s announcer, as the “Voice of God.”

Joel Gray (3rd row, 4th from left) poses with the Staples Players cast and directors.

Click below (or here) to watch Michelle Pauker, “Jersey Boy” John Lloyd Young, Staples Player and Broadway stars perform “What I Did For Love.”

Adam Kaplan stepped up up from understudy to lead in last Saturday’s matinee and evening performances of “Newsies.”

The 2008 Staples grad played Jack Kelly at the Nederlander Theatre.

A perhaps-only-slightly-less-than-objective Westport fan said, “He was wonderful! His singing, acting, comic timing and dancing were totally Broadway-worthy. “

She was also struck by “the kindness, patience and genuine warmth that he showed to fans outside the theater.”

His fans included dozens of Westporters — among them his father and mother, Jeff and Carol; his former music teacher Suzanne Sherman Propp, and current and former Staples Players.

Adam Kaplan and a few fans, after the show.

Adam — whose usual roles are both Morris Delancey and a newsboy — may take the role again soon.

Where will that lead? Read all about it — not in newspapers, but on “06880.”

(Fun fact: “Newsies” associate director Richard [Ricky] Hinds danced in Staples Players summer shows, before Adam’s time.)

The work of a star is never done.

At Staples High School, 2012 graduates Gregg Bonti and Sami Schwaeber had 2 passions: Players and Best Buddies.

Both are now rising sophomores at the University of Vermont. Both are studying early childhood education. And both realized, in their 1st year away from Westport, that they missed Best Buddies, and the friendships they formed in the club that helps improve the lives of people with disabilities.

This Friday and Saturday (July 12 and 13, 7:30 p.m., Toquet Hall), they’ll put on a show. All proceeds go to Best Buddies.

Gregg is directing “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.” Sami serves as choreographer, and plays Schwartzand Grubenierre. The 9 actors are all current Staples Players, or alums.

The”Spelling Bee” cast.

Gregg chose “Spelling Bee” because, he says, “Everyone can relate to it.” The musical is about 6 youngsters in the throes of puberty. Throughout the bee, they learn it is okay to be different — and that losing does not make you a “loser.”

“This fits in nicely with Best Buddies,” Gregg says. “We’re all different, and that’s okay. Best Buddies celebrates everyone’s individuality and unique identity, while providing support in the form of friendship. That’s something the characters in ‘Spelling Bee’ are looking for.”

Funds will help Best Buddies host events and parties, as well as a statewide ball.

For a ball of your own, see “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.”

(Tickets are $10. They’re available at the door 30 minutes prior to curtain, or by clicking here.)

(Click below for August Laska’s trailer — or click here if your browser does not take you directly to YouTube.)

“Bye Bye Birdie” is a staple on high school and middle school stages.

But until this coming weekend, it has never been performed in the Staples auditorium.

Staples Players (and summer production) directors David Roth and Kerry Long are huge fans of the musical. They’ve often talked of doing it — but the time never seemed right.

On Friday, Saturday and Sunday, it is.

Jack Seigenthaler (as Conrad Birdie) is surrounded by adoring fans. (Photo by Kerry Long)

The show — inspired by the intense popularity of Elvis Presley, and his 1957 draft notice — is a satire of that era. But some school productions — well, let’s just say they stage it a bit too straightforwardly.

That won’t happen this time. David and Kerry are working their magic once again, bringing the satirical best out of a big — and enormously talented — cast.

It’s perfect summer fare. Kids will love it, because the “kids” onstage have such a blast. It’s funny and fun, with tons of bright colors, intriguing characters, and great dancing and music.

Jack Bowman as Hugo Peabody, and Michelle Pauker as Kim MacAfee. (Photo by Kerry Long)

“Bye Bye Birdie” offers a chance for many Staples Players — plus recent graduates, and excellent performers from surrounding towns — to strut their stuff.

Jack Seigenthaler — Weston High’s popular leading man — plays Conrad Birdie. Clay Singer and Tyler Jent are double-cast as Conrad’s manager. Claire Smith is Albert’s secretary and love interest. Michelle Pauker is Kim MacAfee, the small- town girl upon whom Conrad will bestow his “last kiss.”

And after half a century, Conrad will finally do it on the Staples stage.

“Bye Bye Birdie” will be performed on Friday, July 26 (7:30 p.m.), Saturday, July 27 (2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.), and Sunday, July 28 (4 p.m.). Click here for tickets.

Maddy Rozynek plays Mae Peterson; Clay Singer is Albert Peterson. (Photo by Kerry Long)

“Bye Bye Birdie” — Staples Players’ summer production — opens tonight in the high school auditorium.

It’s a classic show, with broad appeal. Little kids, folks who loved the original (slimmed-down) Elvis, and everyone in between — all will appreciate the talented 2013 cast’s take.

Click here (or below) for a preview of the dancing and pit orchestra, as John Seigenthaler sings “Honestly Sincere.”

“Bye Bye Birdie” will be performed tonight (Friday, July 26, 7:30 p.m.); Saturday, July 27 (2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.), and Sunday, July 28 (4 p.m.). Click here for tickets.

Claire Smith as Rosie in “Bye Bye Birdie.” (Photo by Kerry Long)

The staging and lighting are as much a part of the show as the singing, dancing and pit orchestra. (Photo by Kerry Long)

Craig Matheson — founder of the legendary Staples Players’ drama organization; a former teacher and administrator at Staples High School, and a beloved educator, director, and wonderful, ever-smiling human being — died peacefully yesterday morning, surrounded by his family. He was 81.

He remained a Staples Players friend throughout his life. The last show he saw was “You Can’t Take It With You,” in May. Fittingly, that was the 1st Players production he ever directed, more than 5 decades ago.

A service is tentatively planned for Sunday, August 11, 2 p.m. at Green’s Farms Congregational Church.

Craig Matheson was known as the founder of Staples Players. But he was very involved in local affairs too. In 2010 — for the 175th anniversary of the chartering of the town of Westport — he played the role of founding father Daniel Nash.

In 2004 I interviewed Craig for my book, Staples High School: 120 Years of A+ History. Here is that chapter.

————————————–

In 1957 I had a been a public school English teacher for 4 years, in Southington and Woodbury. I had just finished my master’s degree in theater at Wesleyan, when I met [Staples English teacher] Gladys Mansir and [principal] Stan Lorenzen at a conference. She said Staples was building a new high school, and would I be interested in doing theater there? I said yes. Then she told me I wouldn’t have a stage for another year.

I came, and taught on Riverside Avenue for one year. I helped with the plans for the new building, but there wasn’t much I could do. It was more of an auditorium than a theater. The emphasis was on concerts, not plays, because the music program was so strong. I couldn’t change much, because it was already close to completion.

When I came to Staples there was no drama program – just the senior class play. Gladys and Edna Kearns had done them. They were trained in English and Latin, and were anxious to find someone to do the plays. The kids wanted drama, but they didn’t know anything about it.

The first year Stan wanted something, anything, so I did a production number – “The Night Before Christmas” – for the Candlelight Concert, which in those days was at Long Lots Junior High. We ended up alternating that and “Amahl and the Night Visitor” every year, for years. I also taught five English classes.

Christopher Lloyd, in Staples High School.

I found Christopher Lloyd. He was a marginal student, but he was interested in theater. He came to my small apartment on Turkey Hill Road, and we had a long conversation about theater. He helped me get started with our first production later that year. It was also at Long Lots, on the stage in the gym. It was more of a theater revue – not really a play.

The move to North Avenue changed everything. There was no high school in the state that I knew of with a theater program. Most were like Staples – they had a senior class play, with a faculty advisor who got dragooned into it. They were awful plays, but the kids loved them.

I told the kids we’d start a theater program, and they chose You Can’t Take it With You from play books. It was an intimate comedy. I had no production director, so I did that too. I had no idea how to mount it, how to bring it down on a stage that large. I did very well from an acting point of view, but as a production director I stunk. The set was much too large, so the play lost its intimacy. And it was pink, so it looked even bigger. We put it on for one weekend, and were very glad to get an audience both nights. But people thought the show was fine.

Lu Villalon was the editor of the Town Crier, and his son Andy happened to star in that production. His sister Ann was in plays too. Lu reviewed the shows for the Town Crier under the name “Robin Goodfellow,” and that stirred a lot of interest in theater at Staples.

The next year we did two major productions. The Teahouse of the August Moon was very successful. It ran for two weekends. People from the New England Theatre contest came, and it won a New England award. It also won the Connecticut Drama Festival award, so we started with a bang. That created lots of interest and excitement in the theater program too. And the local papers were great . They gave us full pages of coverage, with photos for every show.

We had a lot of support from Stan, from superintendent Gerry Rast and the Board of Education. Gerry was a musician – he played the organ – and his wife was too. They were very arts-oriented people. He wanted a theater program comparable to the music program that was already established, and I was his man to do that.

All the administrators I worked for supported what I was doing. Stan, Jim Calkins, Gerry, Gordon Peterkin – without their support, I would have been dead. They all saw the value in what we were doing, and they were all there at our performances. They were very loyal supporters – and it was not just lip service. The community and the Board of Education really made a difference too.

Anything I asked for, I got – including release time from the classroom. That was almost unheard of. By my third year my teaching load had been reduced by half. I had two English classes, and one Play Production. The next year I had only theater classes. They got so big, Floren Harper was hired to help teach them too. She came from Andrew Warde High School in Fairfield, and she worked so well with movement and dance.

Craig Matheson (right) and technical director Steven Gilbert.

At that time, I don’t think any Connecticut high school had play production classes. I team-taught with Stephen Gilbert. He was an art teacher with a great interest in theater – a very talented guy. He taught stage design, costuming and makeup.

Steve was so important to the high school. He was a young man with a great sense of color and lighting and costumes. He got kids so excited about projects. He was like a magnet. He had more kids on his technical staff than I had on stage. They always worked so hard. He was a godsend to the program.

Steve and Floren and I were such a team. There was no intrigue. We all had a sense of humor, and we loved the kids.

We also had help from Liza Chapman Heath, a skilled actress who did workshops with us. And Ian Martin, a theater writer and actor, would come speak to the kids about theater opportunities.

Hal James, the Broadway producer, was wonderful. His daughter Melody was in our program – so were his sons Beau and Mike, but she was the most talented of the three. He saw the potential of our program, and what needed to be done. He saw the stage needed work, and through his influence we got Ralph Alswang – a Broadway theater designer – to cut holes in the side panel to mount stage lights. Originally, we could only light the tops of heads.

Ralph became the consultant for redoing that monstrous auditorium building. We’ve had three renovations since, and now it’s what I envisioned 40 years ago – it’s got a green room, a dressing room, a large stagecraft area, and a new lighting board.

The program grew because of the reputation it began to get for excellence. We won five consecutive first-place awards in the Connecticut Drama Festival, and two New England Theatre awards. Audiences grew – from 400 that first weekend in 1958, to over 5,000 for War and Pieces. We toured 14 high schools and six colleges with that show.

At Staples Players’ 50th anniversary celebration in 2008, Craig Matheson (right) reunited with Peter Hirst (left), who played Everyman in the 1967 production of “War and Pieces.” They worked with then-current Player Adam Bangser, who reprised that role. (Photo by Kerry Long)

Kids saw that theater was fun. They got recognition from audiences. Sports had always been big at Staples, and I wanted athletes to be in theater too. [Choreographer] Joanne De Bergh was wonderful working with the guys. So was Bambi Lynn, who played Alice on Broadway and did our choreography for Alice in Wonderland.

We had a number of significant plays. Peter Pan was an absolutely delightful show. It was the first year we got Saugatuck families involved. Antoinette Sarno – the barber’s daughter — was Peter. She was marvelous. She’s now a theater teacher.

The Foys of New York, who did the flying for the original show, came to help us with the staging. The town turned out in force to see it. They were so excited to see Antoinette fly around the stage. But that flying required a lot of sophistication. Five kids flew, and no one hit anyone else. After the fifth show, I was so thankful no one got hurt. It was high risk. The Foys showed us how to do it, but the football players backstage did all the pulling. It was aerial ballet, comparable to Broadway.

We didn’t enter the Connecticut Drama Festival that year. We were too far beyond the other schools. So we hosted it, and while the judges were deciding the winners the final night, we performed it for the rest of the audience.

We had a few flops. The Madwoman of Chaillot was much too difficult. That was a bad decision on my part.

Today they do musicals. The cooperation between drama, music and art is wonderful. Some of the people I worked with were more guarded about their areas. I always had to fight to get time on stage.

When I moved into administration, it was at the request of [principal] Jim Calkins. I didn’t want to, but with three kids the money was attractive. I’ve regretted it the rest of my life.

Then I got an offer from Darien to head the drama department. And then when they asked me to be an administrator there, I did the same thing again. I made the same mistake twice!

But it was so nice a few years ago to be asked to go to the Fringe Festival in Edinburgh with Judy Luster, Dave Roth and Joanne Kahn. I absolutely loved it. It was so nice to be asked, and to sort of tie things back to the beginning of Staples Players.

At Staples Players’ 50th anniversary celebration in 2008, director David Roth (right) announced that the Black Box Theater would be named in honor of Players’ founder, Craig Matheson (left). (Photo by Kerry Long)

Al Pia was a great find as a director, and of course [current director] David Roth was Al’s student. It’s almost incestuous. All of us, including [former director] Judy Luster, have influenced each other for almost 50 years.

The theater program is the lifeblood of that high school. I never miss a performance. It’s made such a difference in people’s lives. One night I was watching TV, and I saw seven kids who have come through the program. Being able to instill love for an art form has been inspirational – that’s what it’s all about for me.

Last year, Staples Players wowed audiences with fantastic choreography in “A Chorus Line.” The year before, the Jets and Sharks danced their way through Players’ “West Side Story.”

This fall’s production of “Thoroughly Modern Millie” takes dance to a new level: tap.

The show is unique. Set in the Roaring Twenties, it’s based on a 1967 movie. Opening on Broadway in 2002, “Millie” won 6 Tonys — including Best Musical.

Amanda Horowitz as Millie Dillmount. (Photo/Kerry Long)

“It’s the best of both worlds,” says director David Roth. “It’s got crazy, madcap ’20s and ’60s sensibilities, but it’s a modern musical. It’s not dated at all. It’s very contemporary and accessible to modern audiences. And it’s a great show for families.”

It’s also very funny. And the huge amount of tap dancing is a first for former Players actor — now director — Roth.

He hired Abigail Root — a young dance teacher — to join regular choreographer Andrea Metchick.

“It’s been exciting to watch boys and girls learn tap,” Roth says. “That’s a very different style of dance. It’s like playing a percussion instrument — there are lots of different rhythms. But they love it.”

“Millie” also includes plenty of Charleston and flapper dances.

And it’s a huge costume show. Roth estimates at least 200 are displayed throughout the show.

Nick Ribolla as Jimmy Smith, surrounded by the ladies of the Hotel Priscilla. (Photo/Kerry Long)

Audiences will see several new faces in leading roles. Ryder Chasin, Nick Ribolla and Jack Baylis are among the first-time stars. The 2 Millies — Amanda Horowitz and Maddy Rozynek — are more familiar to Players fans.

“A Chorus Line” and “West Side Story” showcased Players’ dance talents to thousands of Westporters. “Thoroughly Modern Millie” will tap that choreographic mother lode once again.

Cara McNiff as Muzzy Van Hossmere. (Photo/Kerry Long)

Audiences are raving about Staples Players’ fall production, “Thoroughly Modern Millie.” Co-directors David Roth and Kerry Long have created a wonderful show, filled with talented, tap-dancing performers; clever costumes, and a peppy pit orchestra. Technical directors Peter Barbieri and Dave Seltzer added a stunning set, and sophisticated lighting.

But Roth, Long, Barbieri and Seltzer are quick to note that they — and Players — would not be where they are today without the pioneering contributions of Craig Matheson and Steve Gilbert.

This Saturday (November 23, 5 p.m., following the 2 p.m. “Millie” matinee) they join former Players, family members, the audience, Staples Orphenians and the public in paying tribute to those 2 men.

Craig Matheson (right) and Steven Gilbert.

Matheson — the founder of Staples Players back in 1958 — and Gilbert, who started the Staples Stage and Technical Staff — will be honored with the dedication of a sculpture. “All the World’s a Stage” is installed in Staples’ courtyard, a few feet from the lobby of the auditorium Matheson and Gilbert loved.

The 6-foot-diameter steel sculpture was donated by 1965 graduate and former Player Adam Stolpen. Revealing a medley of changing color, light and pattern, it’s named for the famed monologue from Shakespeare’s “As You Like It,” which compares life to a play.

“Craig Matheson was loved by so many people who were honored to work with him, and were touched by his wonderful, creative and generous spirit,” Roth says. ”Working with Craig was an incredible experience.”

Appropriately, the last Players production Matheson saw was “You Can’t Take It With You,” in May. It was the 1st show he directed for Players, in 1958. Matheson died in August.

Gilbert — who died in the 1970s — was beloved for his ability to create, innovate and inspire backstage crews.

“Steven Gilbert taught me early an artistic professionalism that has served me well. Craig Matheson was the consummate teacher and lifelong mentor,” says Staples ’68 graduate Joan Elizabeth Goodman.

“Their gifts enriched my generation of Players. And their legacy extends to the Staples Players of today and tomorrow.”

(Players representatives hope to locate Steve Gilbert’s former wife and 2 children, to invite them to the ceremony. Email contact information to droth@westport.k12.ct.us.)

(Tickets are not necessary to attend Saturday’s dedication. For tickets to the matinee, or this Friday and Saturday’s 7:30 p.m. shows, click here.)

“All the World’s a Stage”: the sculpture.

Gina Rattan is too young to remember the last live musical on national TV.

It was “Cinderella” — back in 1959.

Gina graduated from Staples in 2004. Heck, her parents are probably too young to remember that show.

But the Staples Players alum knows all about the “Cinderella” now running on Broadway. She joined it in September 2012 as associate director.

Now — in a clever plot twist that’s almost too good to be true — she’ll be part of a history-making event. On December 5 (8 p.m.), NBC airs “The Sound of Music” — live.

It’s the first nationally televised performance of a musical since that long-ago “Cinderella.” And Gina is the associate director.

Gina Rattan. The hard hat is because the set was under construction.

The challenges are enormous, she says — and Gina knows from challenges. After earning a BFA from the University of Michigan, she served as resident director of “Billy Elliot” on Broadway. Part of her job: wrangling the 4 different pre-teen Billys.

Working with Carrie Underwood (the Julia Andrews role) and director Rob Ashford sounds easier. But staging the 1st live TV musical in over 50 years is far tougher than singing do-re-mi.

“The set for TV is so much bigger than a theater set,” Gina notes. “And we use several sets, on a huge sound stage. But the rehearsal space was so small. We really had a to adapt.”

In addition to stage blocking, she devised blocking for cameras. Auditions and pre-production began in mid-September. Rehearsals started last month.

The von Trapp children go to school for 15 hours a day, so finding rehearsal time was difficult. “With ‘Billy Elliot,’ we had a routine,” Gina says. “This changes every day. If I can make this schedule work, I can do anything!”

While all that goes on, another camera crew is filming everything. That’s for a behind-the-scenes “Making of…” documentary, which airs November 27.

Oh, yeah. The cast also found time to record a cast album.

But it’s all coming together, Gina promises.

“This is so unique,” she says. “The dancing is gorgeous, and the kids are fabulous.

“It’s very exciting: a beautiful live show with a full orchestra. Anything can happen. That’s what I love about theater.”

And that’s why an enormous audience is expected on December 5. The hills — and living rooms — will be alive with the sound of music.

Thanks, in large part, to the frenzied, but very professional, work of Westport’s Gina Rattan.

Recently, Nick Ribolla acted, sang and danced his way to audiences’ hearts as Jimmy Smith, in Staples Player’s superb production of “Thoroughly Modern Millie” earlier this month.

Nick is only a sophomore. But he’d already played that role before, when Bedford Middle School presented “Millie.” Other “Millie” veterans from Bedford include Amanda Horowitz, Maddy Rozynek, Claire Smith, Emily Ressler, Nick Massoud, Joe Badion, Josh Popkin, Kelly Gore,  Caroline Didelot, Will Haskell, Caroline Rossi, Sam Adelmann, Christian Melhuish, and Emma Ruchefsky.

Nick Ribolla (Jimmy Smith) and Julia Mandelbaum (Millie), in Bedford Acting Group’s “Thoroughly Modern Millie.” (Photo/Kerry Long)

Players wow Westport with their professional-quality shows. But the incredibly talented casts — and the equally strong technical crew, working behind the scenes — do not show up in 9th grade as novices.

They’re exposed to theater at Bedford and Coleytown. For many youngsters, middle school is where a lifelong passion begins.

Bedford Acting Group is run by director/presentation skills teacher Karen McCormick, assistant director Ryan O’Neill and producer Marge French.

All interested students are accepted. That makes for an enormous cast — the current show, “Guys and Dolls,” has 90 7th and 8th graders, with dozens more working on tech — but, French says, “it’s worth it. In middle school, kids should explore many different activities and interests. Like sports, this is a great way to learn teamwork.”

Every fall, Bedford’s fall musical is open to 7th and 8th graders. In the spring, there’s a straight play for 6th graders. In between, there’s a drama workshop for all students who want more theater.

Philip Cadoux, Jimmy Ray Stagg and Steven Xu as the 3 Chinese characters in “Millie.” (Photo/Kerry Long)

“This is not a ‘middle school show,’” French emphasizes. “We have professional sound, lighting and costumes. We hold the kids to very high standards. This is a great steppingstone to Staples Players.”

So is Coleytown Company. Started 18 years ago by Ben Frimmer, the schedule is the opposite of Bedford. Fall brings a 6th grade no-costume, no-set, open-to-all show (this year’s is Disney’s “Aristocats Kids”), serving as an introduction to theater.

The spring production — which begins in December — is an all-school musical. There are auditions, but between the large cast and tech crew, 100 or more youngsters are involved. This year’s show is “Shrek.”

Everett Sussman and Samantha Chachra in Coleytown’s “Fiddler on the Roof.” (Photo/Failla)

“We work on middle school ideals,” Frimmer says. “It’s all about building self-esteem, feeling part of something, learning a skill, and putting theater together.”

The director adds, “We set the bar high. We have very high production values. We love the kids, and we push them. “ 

Frimmer always looks for unique angles. For “Annie,” Coleytown used the actual Broadway dog.

He points with pride to the “Wish Circle,” the moment when every cast and crew member gathers in his room to share insights on what the theater experience means to them.

“No one ever says, ‘I’m going to be an actor,’” Frimmer notes. “They talk about building friendships, and forming bonds. As an educator, for me that’s what it’s all about.”

Remy Leifer as Smee, and Jacob Leaf as Captain Hook, in Coleytown Middle School’s “Peter Pan.” (Photos/Failla)

David Roth — the Staples Players director who welcomes those experienced actors and tech crew members to high school — praises the middle school programs.

“They’re terrific,” he says. “Kids come into 9th grade with experience and knowledge they wouldn’t otherwise have. So we start here at an amazing level.”

Roth notes the “symbiotic relationship” between the middle schools, and Staples. “Kids get excited seeing our shows. They bring that excitement back to their middle school productions. And because they’re so excited, they’re very well prepared when they get here.

“Westport has a 7-year theater program. Staples is a continuation of middle school. And middle school is vital to our quality.”

(For information on Bedford’s “Guys and Dolls” — presented December 6, 7 and 8 — click here.)

This week, Trumbull took a star turn in the spotlight usually reserved for small towns filled with small-minded people, many many miles from Broadway.

But the principal of Trumbull High School really stepped in it when he decreed that “Rent” — the Pulitzer Prize-winning, long-running hit musical — would not be allowed as the Thespian Society’s spring production.

A few days later, Trumbull’s Board of Education backed him up. They too believe that some of the show’s plot elements — homosexuality, drug use, AIDS — are inappropriate for high school students.

Showing far more wisdom and insight than their elders — and plenty of restraint — an enormous number of Trumbull students disagreed. They pointed out that sex and drugs are part of their reality. They talked respectfully about the importance of artistic freedom. And they started a Facebook page that garnered thousands of pledges of support.

The tempest in Trumbull stands in stark contrast to the high school theater scene in Westport, just a few miles away. In recent years, Staples has produced “controversial” — aka “real” — shows like “The Laramie Project” and “Cabaret.” Nearly 20 years ago, they staged “Falsettos.”

And in 2010, Players’ summer production was “Rent.”

Westport points with pride to Players — and rightly so. In weeks like this, we should be proud too of our administrators and Board of Education. Not for “allowing” Players to do such important theater — that’s something every educator should encourage — but for never even causing anyone here to think it could possibly be an issue.

Staples Players’ “Rent” cast members in 2010 (from left) Chris McNiff, David Ressler and Tyler Jent. (Photo by Kerry Long)

Most high schools “put on” shows. Staples Players stage them.

For “A Chorus Line” last spring, directors David Roth and Kerry Long brought in choreographer (and Staples grad) Bradley Jones, plus Baayork Lee. Both danced in the show on Broadway.

Two years ago, before “Curtains,” Tony Award-winner Rupert Holmes told the cast how he wrote the play.

This year — as Players gear up to present “Avenue Q” — Players are learning all about puppets.

From the pros. Rick Lyon conceived and designed the puppets for the Tony Award-winning show, and originated the roles of Nicky and Trekkie Monster. His company – The Lyon Puppets — built them all.

Pam Arciero — who portrays Oscar the Grouch’s girlfriend, Grundgetta, on “Sesame Street” — is also helping.

The spring production (set for the weekend of March 21-23) brings the happy puppets and cute songs of childhood into the adult world. Human actors — unconcealed — hold the puppets on stage.

Rick Lyon (left) coaches Caroline Didelot and Everett Sussman (right), one of the team of student puppeteers playing Nicky. Scott Yarmoff looks on. (Photo/Kerry Long)

Lyon’s role is to help Staples Players — most of whom had little experience with puppets — feel at ease performing with them. It’s not as easy as it sounds.

“People think of puppets as kids’ entertainment, something fun and funny,” he told Inklings‘ Kacey Hertan. “But learning to puppeteer is as hard as learning to juggle or tap dance or play football. It requires the acquisition of new skills and new disciplines. And new muscles!”

So for hours every day after school, Players work intensively with Lyon, learning skills like lip-synching. A puppet’s mouth cannot move randomly. Every action must have meaning.

And, Lyon notes, “those plastic eyes must be believably focused.”

At the same time, actors are learning the usual blocking, choreography and singing. For some, it’s the toughest challenge they’ve ever faced.

“Avenue Q”‘s style of puppetry is very specific, Lyon says. It’s based on the style Jim Henson created for the TV Muppets, but adapted for stage. The actor — who is also a character — and the puppet must always move together. Neither can upstage the other.

Actors work hard to make their characters believable. With puppets, they must also make something attached to their hand believable too.

Puppeteers are responsible for every move a puppet makes. Lyon compares the craft to playing a musical instrument. “You’re expressing something through a vessel outside yourself, which you control.”

Players have spent years learning how to move their own bodies. Now they have to do the same for something they hold — while also moving their own.

It should be noted that the puppets Players use are not exactly random or basement-variety. They come from a professional puppet company called Swazzle, and are based on Lyon’s original designs for the Broadway puppets.

He is excited about his young puppet proteges. “Everyone is working very hard to make this the best show they can,” Lyon says. “‘Avenue Q’ is fun, funny, and comes from an optimistic place without being corny. The message is that life is hard, lots of things about it suck, but together we can get through it. And things will get better.”

Staples Players’ new puppeteers are already doing very, very well.

“Avenue Q” will be staged on Friday, March 21 (7:30 p.m.), Saturday, March 22 (3 and 7:30 p.m.) and Sunday, March 23 (3 p.m.). For tickets, click here.

Pam Arciero (left) coaches Rachel Corbally on being a right hand to “Nicky,” the puppet. (Photo/Kerry Long)

When Staples Players produced “A Chorus Line” last year, they knew the choreography would be challenging.

Puppets for “Avenue Q,” by contrast, seemed like child’s play.

But preparations for the spring production — set for next Friday, Saturday and Sunday (March 21, 22 and 23) — proved surprisingly tough.

“Learning how to make the puppets be alive is a lot harder than it looks,” says director David Roth. “They breathe. They have tics. Wherever the human holding the puppet looks, the puppet has to look too. Wherever the puppet moves, the human has to follow. It takes an incredible amount of practice.”

Emily Ressler, Will Haskell and their puppets. (Photo/Kerry Long)

Practice makes perfect. Thanks to Roth and co-director Kerry Long; master puppeteers Rick Lyon (who conceived and designed the puppets for the Tony Award-winning show) and Pam Arciero (who portrays Grundgetta on “Sesame Street”) — and the long, hard work of the high school actors — when the curtain rises, Players will add one more remarkable talent to their amazing 56-year-long history of theatrical accomplishments.

Roth says that the puppet-wielding Players are not the only ones to gain an appreciation of the difficulty of this craft. “Kerry and I realize more than ever before how tough this is,” Roth says. “It’s been great to watch the kids rise to the challenge. Every day, the puppets become more and more believable.”

Players (from left) Bryan Gannon, Will Haskell, Maddy Rozynek, Emily Ressler and Cara McNiff prepare their puppetry. (Photo/Kerry Long)

Learning puppetry was not the only challenge. The winter’s long series of snow days and early dismissals — normally cause for teenage joy — sent shivers down the cast and crew’s spines. Players lost 10 rehearsals — 8 of them involving puppet education — to weather. Add in February vacation, and it’s been very tough sledding.

But the show must go on. Players will — as always — be ready.

Audiences will love “Avenue Q,” Roth predicts. It’s not the R- (X?-)rated Broadway version. This “School Edition” dispenses with 4-letter words. “It’s got all the themes and words you’d find in a PG film or on prime time TV,” the director says.

Nearby, a puppet nods his head.

(“Avenue Q” will be presented on Friday, March 21 at 7:30 p.m.; Saturday, March 22 at 3 and 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, March 23 at 3 p.m. Click here for more information, and to order tickets.)

(If the YouTube trailer above does not open in your browser, click here.)

Mia Gentile‘s resume includes impressive credits: Off-Broadway and regional shows; 4 years at the prestigious Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music; many awards and honors.

But things get really interesting when she lists “Special Skills”: dialects (Cockney, Scottish, Irish, Spanish, French, German); improvisational singing (jazz scat and gospel solo), and diva imitations (“i.e., Celine Dion”).

Mia Gentile

The 2007 Staples grad doesn’t even mention her role in a racy parody of a popular novel, called “Fifty Shades of F****d Up.” Or her star turn in a Stanley Steemer parody video that went viral. Mia sang that repellent jingle over and over and over again — each time in a different genre.

All of that is great training for her latest gig. Mia is one of 2 female cast members in Forbidden Broadway Comes Out Swinging.

Right now, the show is busy adding razor-sharp send-ups of Pippin, Kinky Boots, Les Miz and Matilda, to last year’s favorites like Wicked and The Book of Mormon. Honing its edges, it opens officially on Sunday (May 4) at the Davenport Theatre on 45th Street.

It’s the type of show where Mia can play several African American roles — Diana Ross, anyone? — and land on the right side of hilarious.

Acting on a New York stage requires plenty of talent, energy, flexibility and commitment. But Forbidden Broadway‘s demands are tougher than most.

In this “Sound of Music Live on NBC” sketch, Mia plays Audra MacDonald, (right), while Carter Calvert is Carrie Underwood.

“Vocally, I’m all over the map,” Mia says. Each scene, she plays someone new. She not only has to act and sing — she’s got to act and sing like other singers and actors. She has to do it convincingly, and also with humor.

But not too much. This is parody, not slapstick.

“Vocally I’m all over the map,” Mia says. “Every number is a new costume, really a new show.”

During a manic schedule of rehearsals and preview performances, she’s learned a lot about comedy.

“You can’t prepare too much,” Mia says. “You don’t know what’s funny until you’re in front of a live audience. I just have to trust the material, and find out what works as we go along.”

Of course, Mia has prepared plenty for this role. Her career began in Westport, and Music Theater of Connecticut. She credits voice teacher Kevin Connors, Staples choral director Alice Lipson, Staples Players directors David Roth and Kerry Long, and choreographer Joanne Kahn for much of her success.

This “Cabaret Revival” sketch includes Carter Calvert as Liza Minelli, Mia Gentile as Michelle Williams playing Sally Bowles, and Scott Foster as Alan Cumming (the MC).

“The Staples shows were so rich, complex, stimulating, challenging and fun,” Mia says. Yet each was different. For example, Urinetown was “stylized comedy”; The Mystery of Edwin Drood taught her about improv.

At CC-M, many classmates came from performing arts schools. They could not believe Mia had gone to a public high school.

Still, nothing could have prepared the Westporter for the demands of Forbidden Broadway. Pausing in a rare free moment between yoga class and one of her 8 weekly performances (plus rehearsals), Mia says, “This show is very alive right now. We’re getting ready for Tony season, and our opening run.”

That’s no joke.

So many plays are comedies, or at least light. Who wants to leave the theater depressed?

And high school theater is especially known for light fare. Who wants teenagers to think about death?

David Roth and Kerry Long do.

The directors of Staples Players have chosen Infinite Black Suitcase as this spring’s major Black Box production. It’s got its light moments, but it is definitely a serious drama.

Which makes it perfect for Players, the high-school-in-name-only troupe that seems to break boundaries every time the curtain rises.

They’ll do it again May 29, 30, 31 and June 1. Players is the 1st high school group to stage the show — and this is the 1st production ever on the East Coast.

Dan (Jack Bowman, left) is dying of AIDS. Stephen (Joe Badion) is his partner. (Photo/Kerry Long)

Roth was searching for a play with a big ensemble, and challenging roles. “This script really spoke to me,” he says. “It’s well written. It demands a lot of the actors. And the stories are fascinating.”

Infinite Black Suitcase is about death and dying in a small Oregon town. A series of vignettes follows a group of occasionally intersecting characters as they face tough, real-life situations: a sick wife. A dying partner. Feuding exes. Suicide.

How do you let go of a loved one when you didn’t get a chance to say goodbye? How do you start dating again after losing a spouse? What happens when you’re at the end of life, but your husband owns a burial spot with his 1st wife?

The responses are very real, very honest. And the teenage cast rises to the occasion.

Katie (Claire Smith) must decide who gets custody of her children after she dies: her current husband (Jacob Leaf, left) or her ex, the children’s father (Jack Baylis). (Photo/Kerry Long)

They’re helped not only by Roth and Long, but also playwright EM Lewis. She’s very excited to work with a high school group, and has answered actors’ and directors’ questions about character, plot and setting. She’s opened up to them about her own experiences with death and dying, which frame many of the vignettes.

She says:

I’m very pleased that Staples has chosen to produce my play. Some themes are complex, which might discourage some high schools from tackling it. But people shouldn’t underestimate high school students’ ability to explore and understand emotionally complicated questions of the human heart.

“It’s so great to work on such a new work,” Long says. “And having access to the playwright’s insights is extra special.” Lewis’ voice comes through strongly; her script, Roth says, is “very modern.”

While all this sounds morbid, Infinite Black Suitcase is ultimately very touching, thought-provoking — even humorous. Each character has depth, is involved in a strong (though difficult) relationship, and faces true conflict.

Rehearsals have been filled with discussion. Roth and Long invited a grief specialist to talk with the cast.

Will Haskell (left) and Scott Yarmoff play siblings dealing with their brother’s suicide. (Photo/Kerry Long)

“It’s a very different show,” one actor said. “But I’ve learned a lot. It’s always good to do something different, and get out of our comfort zone.”

Players’ talented seniors are going out with a bang. The younger actors are getting a real-life lesson in theater.

Everyone is learning about death. And life.

(Infinite Black Suitcase will be performed at 7:30 pm on Thursday, May 29; Friday, May 30 and Saturday, May 31, and 4 pm on Sunday, June 1. It contains mature language. Click here to order tickets.) 

(If your browser does not take you directly to the YouTube trailer, click here.)

Life is a cabaret, old chum.

And every decade or so, “Cabaret” comes to Westport.

Staples Players — the legendary high school acting troupe — first performed the darkly decadent show in 1984. Directed by Al Pia, it starred David Roth as the MC. It’s a difficult role for anyone, but the senior nailed it.

Pia reprised the show in 1992.

In 2004, Players produced “Cabaret” again. David Roth was once again involved — this time as director.

He’s still at the Staples helm, and once again he’s staging the show. “Cabaret” runs next weekend — July 24 through 26 — as Players’ Summer Theatre Production.

Jack Bowman as the emcee, and the Kit Kat Girls. (Photo/Kerry Long)

Just as every Broadway and London production and revival has been different, so too have the Staples versions.

But, Roth says, while previous Players incarnations have stuck closely to the original Joel Grey interpretation, the current production combines that version with the one now in its 2nd revival in New York. This one is “much more theatrical,” Roth says. Everything seems to take place inside the Kit Kat Club — even the scenes in Cliff’s rooming house.

And, the director adds, “the master of ceremonies is very much present throughout every scene of the play. In the other versions, the 2 worlds are very separate.” Jack Bowman plays Roth’s old role.

Still, next weekend’s “Cabaret” retains ties to the past. Besides Roth, choreographers Kat and Jess Eggart both danced in Pia’s 1992 production.

Sally Bowles (Claire Smith) and Cliff (Jack Baylis) share a moment in “Cabaret.” (Photo/Kerry Long)

“The show has always meant a lot to me, and I’m excited to share that with the kids,” Roth says.

“Kerry and I also want to share the message with students and audiences about people being sucked into an attractive world that turns out to be far uglier than they ever imagined. That’s very important too.

“The idea of people living in a great, dreamlike world that becomes a nightmare is as valid today as it has ever been. The image of dreaming or sleepwalking runs through the entire play. And it’s very present in our production.”

Emcee (Jack Bowman) and the Kit Kat girls perform “Willkommen.” (Photo/Kerry Long)

“Cabaret” resonates with Staples principal John Dodig too. As interim principal, he attended the 2004 production. Leaving the auditorium, he recalls thinking, “This can’t possibly be a public high school.”

He was awed by the professionalism of the voices and dancing. And, he says, “I was amazed that a suburban community would support a high school doing a show with such a dark and risqué theme.”

Dodig calls “Cabaret” the moment he first thought of applying for the permanent principal’s position.

Ten years later, Dodig is still principal. Roth still directs Players.

And another fantastic production of “Cabaret” is about to begin.

(“Cabaret” will be performed at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, July 24, 25 and 26, and at 3 p.m. on Saturday, July 26. Tickets are available at www.StaplesPlayers.com)