Fourth Grade Students Across St. John Gearing Up for “World of Dreams” January 27 at Westin

Donna Drake, above, teaches GBS fourth graders some dance moves while Michael Shawn Lewis, below, rehearses song lyrics with the students.

“Why are there so many songs about rainbows,” sang the fourth grade class at Guy Benjamin School on Tuesday morning, January 17.

With two weeks of intense training to go before the big premier show, five Broadway actors, singers and dancers were busy bringing out the best voices and dance moves from GBS fourth grade students last week.

“One more time with the music,” called out Michael Shawn Lewis, who was leading the vocal lesson at GBS.

Lewis, along with John Tartaglia, Laura Barnao, Donna Drake and Rhonda Miller arrived on St. John the first week of January with the original musical production “World of Dreams” in hand.

The five thespians — each of whom has impressive acting, dancing, singing and choreography credits to their name — are working with fourth graders at all three island schools for a total of three weeks. Then it’s show time!

The students, along with St. John School of the Arts students, will perform “World of Dreams” on Friday, January 27, at the Westin Resort and Villas ballroom.

The production is a fundraiser for St. John School of the Arts, which provides essential arts education to children across the island. The sale of $200 angel tickets for the 6 p.m. show — which includes a champagne reception and dinner at one of the island’s best restaurants — and $100 raffle tickets — for a three-night trip to New York City with theater tickets, dinners, airfare and hotel stay included — will help SJSA continue to provide classes in a wide range of disciplines for students across Love City.

The actors, who each paid for their own travel expenses and have been staying at the home of SJSA board of directors vice president Ronnie Lee, donate all of their time. While hopefully getting to enjoy a beach or two during their few moments of down-time, the actors work with students at Gifft Hill School, GBS, Julius E. Sprauve School and SJSA four days a week for about an hour and a half each day at each school.

GBS fourth graders were perfecting the words and dance moves to what promises to be one of the many highlights of “World of Dreams” last week. Anyone who caught last year’s SJSA musical production fundraiser “Dream, Wish, Believe” knows the audience is in for a treat on January 27.

Anyone who missed last year’s show, should be sure to get a seat to either the angel performance at 6 p.m. or the open performance at 8 p.m. SJSA officials will accept donations of any kind for the 8 p.m. show, but there is no required entrance fee for the performance.

Judging from just the practice session at GBS last week, “World of Dreams” will be a stunning performance, no one will want to miss.

For more information about the show or to purchase angel tickets or raffle tickets call SJSA at 779-4322.