Fame School Forced to Cancel Musical

Every year the real life Fame kids of Fiorello H. La Guardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts put on a musical, but now the NY Times delivers some sad news: "amid serious budget cuts from the city and the state, the bright lights have dimmed...For the first time in recent memory, the school postponed its annual musical this fall and is now considering canceling it." With a normal production budget that can reach up to $70K, it's not all that surprising with massive budget cuts slicing through the system; one teachers' union head at the school commented on the extreme measures, saying: “Forget about cutting to the bone, we’re talking about full-level amputations now.” Now parents are left trying to raise money for a possible springtime production. Their kids want to live forever after all, and can't be expected to without their lifeblood being cut off. Perhaps the school should get a cut from the new movie remake.

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By Jen Carlson in Arts and Events on December 24, 2008 12:30 PM

Comments [rss]

r1b2

Boo-mother fu@king hoo. My daughter's school cancelled its musical, too. Times are tough all over.

Wza

guess the musical wasn't meant to live forever..

jibbly

As a LaG alumni I gotta say I've actually seen a musical. Those drama nerds were annoying though.

Felix Hoenikker

Bake sale? Brothel? Think Positive, kids!

ides_of_march

Things are tough all over. Deal with it.

Most people who go into show biz can expect a life of poverty anyway. Think of this as real-life training.

RatherBeBiking

Wordsniper knows what he's talking about - he graduated from the school last year and apparently has a part time job as a full time dickhead trollish commenter with multiple accounts on gothamist (CR, Wordsniper, if not more).

Jen Chung

This is sad. I wonder if the school would allow someone to underwrite it.

Wordsniper

LaGuardia is nothing like "Fame," except sometimes, and especially at the end of the year when the lunchroom erupts into impromptu musicals straight out of the movie. Also: hottest girls in NYC, hands down.