The Greatest Show Premiere!

Premiere of THE GREATEST SHOW – Why We Do Musicals at BG Every other year, a musical is produced at BG. Once the show has been chosen, auditions held, and the team assembled, the rehearsal process can finally begin. From that point on, students and teachers are busy making the big musical puzzle fit together. Schedules must be coordinated, lines memorized, music numbers, songs, choreography, cues learned, and costumes sewn. Sets need to be built and tickets sold. In short, a miraculous transformation from zero to one hundred has to happen in just three months. Oh, and classes and homework still need attention too. Creating a musical is a transformative process experienced collectively, where students and teachers work together to make it all succeed. Perhaps it is precisely the awareness of shared responsibility for a task bigger than oneself that makes the musical process a perfect example of the creative power of community. It’s an experience that emphasizes that while we work together, it’s each individual’s contribution that makes the final performance truly special. Being part of the musical means being part of a team—but also an individual who adds a unique touch. At BG, everyone can join in, regardless of program, and each person is important, valued, and indispensable. Every year, students from STX, HF, and IB participate across grade levels.

When our students take part in the musical and the creative community emerges, they gain an understanding that each of us has something to contribute to the world, that responsibility matters, and how rewarding it is to look back on something you helped create. Beyond the unique experience of building something big and original from scratch, the musical also introduces a broad group of students to the world of art. It brings together all of BG’s creative subjects in one large interdisciplinary project, showing students how the arts can develop and support each other. It also challenges students—those who thought they could “only” do one thing may suddenly find themselves as dancers or choir singers, perhaps as backstage managers or set builders. Even though the different groups work within their own fields, along the way—and especially at the very end, when the curtain rises and the first number fills the hall—students realize how interdisciplinarity lifts their understanding of and engagement with the world to a new level.

Participating in an aesthetic, artistic, and interdisciplinary project allows students to experience the world with all their senses, to form new perspectives, to tell different stories, and to challenge themselves. All of these are essential educational perspectives that help frame a rich, exciting, and exploratory upper-secondary education. And now we come to this year’s production: The Greatest Show! The themes of the show highlight the importance of community. We meet a man with a vision to create something from scratch—a spectacular show that embraces the unconventional and challenges norms, asking the audience to reconsider what truly matters in life and encouraging us all to take a chance and step into the unknown. With faith in ourselves and knowing we stand on each other’s shoulders, each of us has the chance to make a lasting difference for ourselves and others. Thank you to BG’s creative teams for putting together a fantastic show, and thank you to BG’s students for daring to step into the unknown together.