South Side High School Centre Stage production hosts inaugural premiere

As with many things during the coronavirus pandemic, South Side High School’s Centre Stage production looked a little bit different this year. The usual live stage play of skits turned into a movie premiere, where the stars got a red carpet entrance in front of a crowd many on the John A. Anderson Recreation Centre lawn on June 10.

Dozens of the cast members’ friends and family in the special education program filled Veterans’ Park for the inaugural screening of the annual production, which started in 2008. Each performer got to have their walk down the red carpet before sitting together to watch the video on the big screen.

The students’ reactions nearly stole their own show, as they replicated their on-screen dancing and riffed at their performances.

Lila Naccari, a senior at South Side and the co-president of Centre Stage, said she was thrilled with the show’s format and the large turnout. Naccari has been involved with the program since she was 10-years-old because of her connection with director Ellen White. She debuted in the 2013 iteration: “Neverland: A South Side Story.”

Throughout her time at both the middle school and high school, Naccari has been a constant in the program. This year, though, was significantly different with some Covid-19 regulations still in effect. The production got off and running via Zoom in March and eventually migrated to the stage with masks and social distancing over the past two months.

“I’m just so grateful that we got to do it in-person,” Naccari said. “So, the fact that we could even have this audience here means so much to me.” Last year’s edition was completely virtual with students filming themselves introducing others to their homes.

Director Ellen White has been involved in the program since 2008. “It’s the highlight of the year for me,” she said. “To me it’s more about building community by showing up on the first day of rehearsal with nothing and working together for a final product like they had tonight.”

The show was Dr. Noreen Leahy’s final one before her retirement at the end of the school year. Leahy, the district’s assistant superintendent for pupil personnel services and special education, was instrumental in the growth of the program from its inception.

“This has always been the most heartwarming, important thing I ever did in the district,” Leahy said. “I could become an astronaut and go to the moon and I don’t think I would ever feel as accomplished as I do just seeing the legacy of Centre Stage, and that it’s been able to grow and thrive and been a source of such joy for students and their families.” Leahy praised the creative staff, saying that she was the “left-brain administrator” for the program.

Bryan Nesdill, who wrote and performed in the first edition of the program, titled “The Voyage Home” in 2008 when he was a 10th-grader at the school, returned to thank Leahy for her tireless work.

Centre Stage is still going strong even after all the obstacles put in its path over the last year. And while fixtures like Leahy and Naccari are leaving, the program continues to be strongly supported and embraced by the community.