Community rallies around Elizabeth Forward after fire destroys 'hours upon hours' of students' work for musical production
ELIZABETH, Pa. (KDKA) - Elizabeth Forward High School's musical theater department had just put the finishing touches on their set for next month's production of "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" before a fire ripped through the auditorium Sunday morning, causing devastating damage.
In the hours since the fire, surrounding communities are lending a helping hand.
Like they say in show business: the show must go on. That statement has never been more true for students in the musical theater department. Except that the show will go on.
"For a lot of these kids, that theater is their home away from home and they just lost that," musical director James Benedek said.
The Elizabeth Forward High School musical theater department was only a month away from opening night of its musical production of "The Hunchback of Notre Dame."
After a 12-hour day on Saturday, the cast and crew were in the final stages of building their set. The costumes were hanging off stage and the props were ready to go. Then the unthinkable happened: fire ripped through the school's auditorium. The students lost everything.
"They learned Latin. They designed a phenomenal set, it's the Cathedral of Notre Dame. Designed costumes. Created dance numbers. It's hours upon hours and hours of work. They have done an excellent job and to see that happen, it's just devastating," Benedek said.
Within hours of the fire, community members and school districts far and wide began offering their help, including creating GoFundMe pages that have raised thousands of dollars.
"They're offering props, costumes, people to come build our sets. I've had people reach out to allow us to use their theaters to perform," Benedek said.
When local restaurant owner and township Commissioner Joshua Walls saw the devastation firsthand, he says he wanted to support the kids any way he could. He welcomed the group on Monday for breakfast.
"Anything we can do as a community, we want to come together and if you look at these kids, you feel the spirit today," said Central Dog House Diner owner Joshua Walls. "They're not giving up, they're not defeated. We love that and we want to be a part of that."
"The message behind our show is about kindness towards others. And these kids are some of the kindest kids you'll ever meet. And to see that on a larger scale in the greater community, it's beautiful."
There is a meeting on Monday evening to discuss where the production will be held. Benedek says the kids worked too hard to not let the show go on.
