DOVER — The Dover School has announced its application for a $1,000 theater grant in support of a student production of “Yes, Virginia the Musical” has been approved, and the show will go on.
The production will be presented on Thursday, Dec. 20, at 5:30 p.m. at The Dover School. The community is welcome to attend. Admission is free, and donations are appreciated.
The student-run production is based on the animated, nonmusical television special, “Yes, Virginia,” which CBS has aired annually since 2009.
Macy's department stores, which owns the rights, is making “Yes, Virginia” available to all accredited schools royalty free, and offered $1,000 theater grants to defray production costs to the first 100 schools that applied.
According to first grade teacher Crystal Griswold, this stage production spinoff was written specifically for school children, focusing on grades three through six, and features new songs by Emmy Award-winning songwriters.
“I was thrilled when I received word of the grant. We love to create interdisciplinary opportunities for the students, and this grant will help make a special one possible. It should be a magical holiday celebration for students, parents, and the community,” Griswold said.
“Yes, Virginia the Musical” and related works are based on the now-famous letter that an 8-year-old Manhattan girl, Virginia O'Hanlon, wrote to The New York Sun in 1897, asking for the respected paper's final word on whether or not Santa Claus exists. Editor Francis Pharcellus Church answered via an ardent editorial, which resonated nationally and came to be known as “Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus.”
The Dover School is well known for its theatrical productions. Each spring, the primary grades collaborate on a study of the continents that culminates in a large artistic production, and each fall the sixth grade designs and delivers a show-stopping musical.
For more information on The Dover School and its production of “Yes, Virginia, the Musical,” write Crystal Griswold at cgriswold@doverschool.net or call 802-464-5386.