The stage lights up for the first show since the pandemic, the children’s play “SchoolHouse of Rock Jr. Live!” opened on Oct. 22 and closed on Oct. 23, with roughly 400 attendees to see the show despite not having the elementary school audience as in years past..

Sophomore Gianna Caponigro talked about the show’s process and what it felt like being on stage for the first time.

“It was really great. Even though we have to wear masks it was still very engaging. It was great seeing the audience because when we were virtual we couldn’t see our audience so it was really nice to look out and see everyone out there watching us,” Caponigro said.

She continued to talk about what the process was like for the cast.

“For tech week we had to stay until 9 or 10 P.M. and we were running through our transitions trying to figure everything out since we haven’t been on the new stage,” Caponigro said.

The play brought interactive aspects to the show to get children involved, such as call and response actions, songs and imagination breaks. The show was geared towards a younger audience but it was open for everyone to appreciate.

Caponigro also talked about what she thought about how the first show on the new stage felt.

“I think it went amazing, we didn’t think that we were prepared but when we went on stage we all knew what we were doing,” Caponigro said.

Child audience member Zach Fox talked about his initial reactions to the show.

“[It was] funny and very interactive which made the show 10 times better,” Fox said.

While the school was not allowed to bring children from other elementary schools around DGS for a field trip unlike past years, there were still many children that attended both opening and closing night.

Child audience member Alex Haywood shared her experience during the show.

“[My favorite part] was the conjunction song,” Haywood said.