P.S. 094 students follow the yellow brick road

During the week of May 18, third to fifth graders at P.S. 094 Henry Longfellow Elementary School performed their rendition of The Wizard of Oz.

The musical was directed by Jessica Cressionie, who teaches drama at the school. She did so with help from Hallie Stotler, the school’s music teacher, and Yan Hua Li, a third-grade teacher who choreographed the dances.

The show incorporated traditional Chinese fan dance. Dancers representing colors of the rainbow danced and leapt across the stage while Guadalupe Torres, the fifth-grade student who played Dorothy, sang “Somewhere over the Rainbow.”

Fan dance was incorporated into the show by Cressionie, who said she was inspired by fan dances she had seen on Chinese New Year. She previously incorporated fan dances into other shows at the school, including Moana, where they represented water. Li choreographed the fan dances in The Wizard of Oz.

Students played every part in the show except two. Two flying monkeys who provided comic relief were played by Assistant Principals Lu Zhang and Sharon Valentin. Students also served as the backstage crew.

The students have been working on the show since October, when auditions took place, and rehearsing since November. For six months, they learned the fundamentals of performance, including acting, singing, dancing and always emoting while in front of an audience.

They also played games and had fun throughout the process.

“We got to do a lot of fun activities, like jazz hands,” said Wenli Zheng, who played the Tin Man.

“Working with everyone was amazing and the teachers are so kind and caring,” said Myla Muñoz, who danced in the show, playing one color of the rainbow as well as a tree.

Muñoz plans to continue acting next year when she enters middle school.

“They’re such a dedicated group,” said Stotler. “It was a long rehearsal process and it took time for things to stick, but they did an incredible job. As a music teacher in particular, I’m so proud of their singing.”

On the day of their final dress rehearsal, the play was performed for students from P.S./I.S. 30 Mary White Ovington. Following the performance, students from P.S./I.S. 30 gave feedback to the student performers. They complimented the students’ professionalism, some performers’ backflips, and how quickly many actors were able to change costumes between scenes. They also gave constructive criticism. One student reminded ensemble actors and dancers to be acting with their faces, even when they’re not the focal point of the scene, because the audience is looking at them as well.

The performance blew the audience away. Merilla Deeb, a parent chaperone for P.S./I.S. 30, was shocked to discover that all the performers were in elementary school.

“They were so amazing, I thought some of them had to be middle schoolers. But no, they’re just really that good in third to fifth grade,” said Deeb.

On the day of the final dress rehearsal, the students were thrilled to have their friends and family see the show in the coming days.

“My prediction is that my parents are going to love the show. It’s really exciting,” said Zheng.