Monday, April 21, 2025
In a colorful, energetic and emotional staging of “The Wiz,” students at Woodward Children’s Center brought down the house last week, presenting the musical in what co-directors Matthew Heller and Jonathan Kaplan called their best show yet.
“This is our fifth show that we’ve put on here at Woodward,” said Heller, who created the school’s musical theater program five years ago, during the pandemic shutdown. “I started as an English teacher, and I have a background in music education, so once this program got started, it just kind of fell into my lap as a natural fit.”
The cast included 19 students, and eight more worked on the stage crew, all of them high school age, ranging from 14 to 21. Many of them deal with social and emotional challenges.
“The music in ‘The Wiz’ is a lot more fun and funky,” Heller explained, noting that after four years of Disney-centric musicals, he wanted something “fun and upbeat” but also unfamiliar and challenging for the students.
“It’s not the genre that these students are very familiar with or have ever really been exposed to in a theater setting before,” he added. “I think it came out incredible. By far the best show that we’ve put on in the last five years.”
The reaction was overwhelmingly positive. “Nothing but praise,” Heller said. “They’re rooting for each other like no other,” he added of the cast members. They’re each other’s biggest fans. … They’ve really taken a personal interest in learning their part to the best of their capability and consistently trying to raise the bar for each other.”
And it didn’t go unnoticed by the audiences, which included fellow students, family members and friends. There were four performances, and the final show having been on Friday evening.
“I’ve gotten nothing but positive praise,” Heller said. “Everyone just seems to be amazed, especially when they take a step back and realize that these are all students who have social and emotional challenges … putting forth honestly the show that I would say is competitive with any high school out there.”
Kaplan, who is also an art teacher and runs the school rock band club, joined the program last year, and quickly found a creative partner in Heller.
“We worked very seamlessly together,” Kaplan said. “Between the two of us, we can cover all of the things that need to be taken care of when it comes to a production.”
For Kaplan, the students’ growth over the past year has been nothing short of inspiring. “The audience might not realize, but we who are with them every day see the hurdles that they’ve overcome,” he said. “Some of these kids were afraid to even come to school. And now look at them on stage, and they’re being fearless.”
Kaplan spoke about the wide range of skills taught in the musical theater program — from singing to stagecraft, dancing, improvisation and audience interaction.
“As the students learn the show, every time they do it, they get better at it,” he said. “… It’s like, you know, when you first start to ride a bike, you’re a little shaky, but then it becomes concretized.”
The response from families has been deeply moving.
“Parents … are like, ‘I didn’t know our son could sing like that,’” Kaplan said. “Or ‘I didn’t know my daughter can be so powerful on stage.’ And for us, we see that every day.”
More than just a school play, ‘The Wiz’ served as a way for students to find their voice and be seen anew.
“With the creative arts, it allows people to shine in a different way,” Kaplan said. “Once you’re out of high school … it’s very difficult to be, like, a professional musician or professional artist.
So the fact that we can celebrate these parts of who people are at this age, it’s a beautiful thing. And I’m so glad that we can create these moments.”
