Deciding to celebrate the third time that the musical West Side Story had been performed at BSM, the drama department hosted an alumni event before the performance on Saturday, May 9.

“Because this was the third time BSM had done ‘West Side Story,’ we decided it was a good time to invite any alumni who had participated in theater productions in any way at all,” said Heidi Breen, the Associate Director of Development for Alumni Engagement, who had worked with the Drama Department and Ms. Kate Leahy to coordinate this event.

Gathering in the library before the beginning of the production, alumni from as long ago as the early eighties and other members of the audience who came early to the show enjoyed looking at old playbills, photo albums, and programs of past productions. “Initially we thought it would be an exclusive event,” said Breen, “but we realized it was just too great not to share with others.”

Earlier this year, the alumni had been recognized at an earlier theater performance. “For the junior high play Cinderedna, we allowed the children of alumni who were in attendance between the ages of 3 through the 6th grade to watch the show for free,” said Breen.

This is only one of many events held in honor of BSM alumni throughout the year. “It’s so great for alumni to come back and see their legacy being continued with students today and hopefully be proud of where they came from,” said Breen.

Although the students participating in this year’s production of West Side Story were unable to meet up with the alumni before, they did see the set-up for the event. “It was really cool to see so many people who had been dedicated to drama in BSM’s past,” said junior Ian Hamilton.
Breen and the drama department hope to make this an annual event that will take place on the second Saturday of every spring musical that BSM puts on. “As it grows I hope that a clever name will come out of it,” said Breen.