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The Broadway veteran asked students whose musicals were canceled to share their music with her, and the response was overwhelming.
As events around the country were shuttering and Broadway made the call to halt performances, musical theater icon Laura Benanti (My Fair Lady, She Loves Me, Gypsy) put out a call on Twitter to students whose spring musicals were canceled to post videos of songs from their shows.
"This may seem silly but I know that a lot of high schools were going to have their musicals and those musicals got canceled. And that is a bummer. I know for so many of us, I know for me my high school musical was like a lifesaver," Benanti said in her callout on Twitter. "If you would like to sing a song that you are not going to get sing now and tag me, I want to see you. I want to hear it."
Under the hashtag "#SunshineSongs" students from around the country began sharing videos taken either from rehearsals prior to their shows being canceled or a cappella from their self-isolation in their homes.
From Hamilton to Little Shop of Horrors, students answered the call to shine on Twitter. And Broadway luminaries, including Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda, tweeted that they were was watching the performances. Other Broadway veterans, such as Daveed Diggs, Stephanie J. Block, and Lea Salonga, have responded to the performances that have been shared.
Here's a performance from a canceled production of Once on This Island.
\u201c@LauraBenanti I attend Union High School and we are doing Once On This Island. As of now our show is postponed but we don\u2019t know how long. This is a little snipbit of Waiting For Life\u201d— Khadija Sankoh (@Khadija Sankoh) 1584129225
This was from an all-female production of Fiddler on a Roof.
A number from Hamilton...
\u201c@LauraBenanti My baby brother doesn\u2019t have Twitter so I\u2019m sharing for him! He says that he\u2019s ready if @Lin_Manuel ever decides to do a Hamilton for kids!\u201d— Jordyn (@Jordyn) 1584196503
This one's from Bright Star.
\u201c@LauraBenanti here is a video of my school\u2019s final day of rehersal (FOR NOW!) We have not given up hope. \u2764\ufe0f\u2764\ufe0f\u2764\ufe0f#SunshineSongs\u201d— Mitchell Berzack (@Mitchell Berzack) 1584136507
These students are "Holding Out for a Hero" from Footloose.
None— Concord Theatricals (@Concord Theatricals) 1584475058
This senior was set to perform "Something's Coming" from West Side Story.
\u201c@LauraBenanti My son...a senior...so close to being the Nebraska Jimmy Awards nominee last summer...and our production of West Side Story postponed...oh...and I\u2019m the director. So heartbreaking but trying to home on to hope!\u201d— Leah Purdy (@Leah Purdy) 1584138560
Here's Sondheim!
\u201c@LauraBenanti Glen Ridge Middle School in NJ was scheduled to perform Into the Woods next weekend. #sunshinesongs\u201d— Linda (@Linda) 1584192961
Check out these 6th to 8th graders performing a big tap number from Anything Goes!
\u201c@LauraBenanti I teach 6-8 grade theatre & my kids were supposed to open Anything Goes tonight. So glad I videoed this #SunshineSongs\u201d— ALLI RAE (@ALLI RAE) 1584158509
A little Andrew Lloyd Webber!
\u201c@LauraBenanti All I Ask Of You: The Phantom Of The Opera #SunshineSongs\u201d— Christina Licatalosi (@Christina Licatalosi) 1584216397
