Theatre has been a large part of student life at the middle school over the years. In the days of NPMS, Connie Dyer brought large scale musicals and dramas to life. Murals depicting “Carousel” and “Teahouse of the August Moon” are from this era in middle school history. The mural project began with art teacher, Sue Breitfeller. Sue was very involved in the theatre program as a set designer and choreographer. She wanted to preserve memories of the shows in a tangible way. Connie moved on to the high school and the theatre program faded at NPMS. Several teachers brought back the program. Those teachers included Steve Maugeri and Teddie Psitos. For a number of years, Steve brought dramas alive with the help of Tom Barbella. The fall slot soon became a fall musical with such shows as “Bugsy Malone” and “The Arabian Nights.” The spring musical was the domain of the team of Claudia Carlsson, Darrin Peters and Teddie Psitos. Sue Breitfeller continued to do set designs until retirement. At that point, Claudia’s husband, Joe Southard, joined the team. After 15 years of outstanding productions, Claudia, Darrin and Teddie stepped down. Today the middle school is enjoying a renaissance of its theatre program. The fall drama has returned to a non-musical art form led by Maureen Costello. The spring musical is in the capable hands of Tom Barbella, Jennifer Collins, and Valerie Szeliga. Many other teachers and parents have helped along the way. Pat Engelbrecht sold tickets for the shows for as long as can be remembered. Pat Cocco has kept the mural project alive since Sue Breitfeller retired. As is always true with theatre, it takes a team of dedicated and experienced people to put on a production. The entire SHMS family has been responsible for the wonderful productions depicted in the murals exhibited here. A special note: one of the student artists of the “Snow White” mural was Rex Storch. Rex also played a prince in the production. We lost Rex to cancer when he was in college. He is often remembered as a great swimmer but he was also a talented artist and actor.