“The idea is to highlight and honor the rich history of excellence in music theater here in Fort Dodge by incorporating and performing songs from musicals that FDSH has performed in the past,” said choir instructor Matt Drees, who will again direct the cabaret-style performance. “We looked at the list of shows and tried to start with (performances) that had been staged more than once. From there, we tried to create a few different categories of songs that we were looking for (full company, men’s ensemble, female ensemble, male solo, female solo).

“Once we began to work on that list of songs, we wanted to look at the students who were involved and tried to find ways to feature them as best as possible. It took a while to comb through the shows and select some songs that would work, but once we had a solid list, we just (built) from there and the show started to take shape.”

FDSH will perform at the Fort Dodge Middle School this Thursday through Saturday, using a cabaret format to safely continue its legacy through a global pandemic.

“From the beginning of the planning process, we wanted to find a way to be able to have the students perform — while still following COVID safety guidelines,” Drees said. “We settled on a cabaret format as a way for students to still experience the thrill of live performance, while giving us the flexibility to limit and control the number of students on stage or at rehearsal at any given time.

-Messenger photo by Britt Kudla
Dallas Richardson, of Fort Dodge, sings during Dodgers Showcase practice on Monday at Fort Dodge Middle School.

“Our students will perform wearing masks, and we have set the stage up to include more than one location where different acts will be happening. Additionally, the cabaret format allows us to have students perform songs as solos, duets, trios and quartets, instead of the full group performing at the same time. Our student instrumentalists have recorded their instrument parts that will be used as accompaniment tracks for the singers during the performance.”

The musical tradition at FDSH started in 1928 with the staging of “The Marriage of Nannette.”

“One of the really neat parts about our program is a page that lists chronologically every year and shows that has been performed at FDSH,” Drees said. “It’s great to be able to see each of the years and reflect on that tradition.

“In some cases, we have students whose parents, or even grandparents, were part of musicals at Senior High. We have faculty who were part of musicals at Senior High. It is so neat to be able to connect to that history and highlight that incredible tradition.”

Last year, the students were unable to showcase their talents because of the pandemic. The string of musicals continued, given students still went through the process and preparation before ultimately being kept off the stage due to COVID-19.

-Messenger photo by Britt Kudla
Fort Dodge students Bo Tracy (left) and Ryan Madden practice their duet on Monday at Fort Dodge Middle School.

“Last year’s musical (Bright Star) was the 93rd annual musical production presented by Senior High,” Drees said. ”Although our actual performances didn’t happen, we still count it very much as part of this tradition. We paid royalties, cast roles, and students were preparing music, dialogue, blocking and in some cases even choreography.”

“Just because the performances didn’t happen doesn’t mean that students were not fully engaged in the process of staging a musical.”

The current crew of Dodger performers are excited to be back on the stage in a live setting

“Just being able to see and hear the kids sing in the spring has been so much fun,” said Drees, who is working on his eighth musical at FDSH. “Aside from the musical, last spring we also had spring choir concerts, state large group festivals, and solo/ensemble festivals that didn’t happen.

“Being around the kids and watching them perform in these events has been such a joy and blessing (in 2021).”

-Messenger photo by Britt Kudla
Matt Anderson, of Fort Dodge, practices his solo for the Dodgers Showcase on Monday at the Middle School.

Parts of this year’s musical cabaret have been formatted to highlight the students’ talents, as well as the rich history of the event at FDSH.

“When you are staging a musical, you are very bound by the specific parts to be cast and music to be performed,” Drees said. “Staging a cabaret has allowed us to include more student solos and small groups.”

Drees put together a heartfelt piece for the performances that summed up the past and what the students missed while being away from school and their musical groups.

“Our opening song is one I wrote (specifically) for these performances,” Drees said. “It’;s sort of a musical narrative about last spring, when our students’ worlds got turned upside down. I heard from many of them that what they missed most about being at school was their music classes.

“The chance to make music in community with others was suddenly absent in their lives. Our song includes lyrics that students wrote, and tells the story about this time in their lives: ‘I just want to sing. I want to show the world there’s a song inside of me.'”

-Messenger photo by Britt Kudla
Aaron Amhof, of Fort Dodge, practices his solo during a run through on Monday

-Messenger photo by Britt Kudla
Malaney Butrick of Fort Dodge practices his solo during a run through on Monday.