A VERY "MARIAN" CHRISTMAS

“And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,
Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace,
good will toward men.” (Luke 2:13-14)

Many of you know that in a lot of respects, I’m not really a “big” Christmas person- so when someone or something really gets me excited about Christmas and makes me happy, that’s worth writing about! I was privileged to attend Marian High School’s “Holiday Pops 2010” performance this past Sunday afternoon at the Marian High auditorium.

Marian High has got to be one of the best kept secrets in Framingham; and that’s unfortunate. True, their piece of property is very small by 2010 high school standards, and the building which was a state-of-the-art three million dollar facility back in the late 1950s is now pretty “dated”. Even so, the property is kept very well maintained, and any visitor would be surprised by the up to date computers and other equipment at the school and the overall high quality of the faculty and staff. Most years Marian’s total student population is no more than three hundred. Despite that somewhat low number, most of the time, Marian is able to field outstanding athletic teams. And, while many in this area know that Framingham High has an outstanding drama program, SO DOES MARIAN!

All of my kids were part of the “Marian Mainstagers” during their high school years. The school is blessed to have teacher and drama coach Stephen Flynn on staff. Flynn has a background on Broadway and has got to be one of the most talented and capable drama teachers in New England. For each of the past few years the Marian Mainstagers have put on a Christmas program, but this year some wondered whether the school would be up to the task. Mr. Flynn became quite ill just a few weeks ago, and had to have a quintuple heart by-pass done. At this point, I’ve got to interject as a proud Dad that my daughter Rachel who holds Bachelor’s degrees in both Fine Arts and Theater Arts stepped in and supervised practices for the program along with music teacher and director Mr. George A. Perrone. Thank God, Mr. Flynn was back to direct the performance.

“Holiday Pops 2010” was really not a “Christmas PLAY”. It was a musical variety show. The kids at Marian have some amazing talents. (Fox’s “Glee”- watch out!!) The audience was entertained with singing, instrumental music, dance, choreography, and a fabulous set! One thing that kind of bothers me about the Marian drama shows is the bulk of the audience is usually parents, siblings, and very old people. That’s no slight to very old people! I’m a card carrying AARP member and only a few years away from being officially classified as “elderly” myself. Old people love the Marian shows, and God bless them, they SHOULD attend... I was just a little sad to see the auditorium no more than half full on Sunday. This was the third performance, but even so, the place SHOULD have been full...and with people of all ages and backgrounds.

This is not “your grandparents’ Marian High School”! The demographic background is not just Irish and Italian Catholic kids. Oh, sure, there are plenty of Irish and Italian Catholic kids and faculty; but Marian currently has quite a number of Korean exchange students, as well as a representation of quite a few ethnic and religious groups.

There were well over thirty “numbers” in the show. One person DID comment to me that there should have been more “religious” pieces, and I agree. I’d have loved to hear a soloist do “O Holy Night” or hear a few carols such as “Angels We Have Heard on High”. That stuff was surprisingly lacking at a Catholic school program. But there WERE a lot of the holiday favorites such as LeRoy Anderson’s “Sleigh Ride”, “Blue Christmas” by a Korean-American Elvis impersonator (no kidding!), “Jingle Bell Rock”, “Silver Bells”, and “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”. They even cranked up Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas is You” (would it shock readers to know I love that song?) and Colleen Fitzpatrick did an impressive dance number while it played.

The closing song was “White Christmas”.

There was rousing applause for the performers, and especially for Mr. Flynn.
The kids gave floral bouquets as “thank yous” to several adults who’d helped with the show, and I was thrilled that my daughter Rachel received one.

If you’re looking for a great alternative to public school for your children or grandchildren, I highly recommend Framingham’s Marian High School. And, I hope next year the place will be full for their Christmas program!