If you’re looking for a feel-good documentary to bring joyful tears to your eyes, then look no further than this uplifting title focusing on the staff and students at Northwest School of the Arts in Charlotte, North Carolina. The public magnet school has a graduation rate of 97% and a diverse student body, and as principal Melody Sears says, “Theater is an escape from the harsh reality of life” for many of these talented kids who hope to be cast in the high school production of the Broadway adaptation of The Color Purple filled with singing, dancing, and serious acting.
The program covers auditions, callbacks, rehearsals, set designs, costumes, and performances of the production in which the amazingly talented cast, including ensemble members, give their all to put on a polished show that eventually receives national attention that sends the group to Nebraska to compete in a juried festival where they also meet with college arts recruiters.
And not to be forgotten is the dedicated staff, including theater arts teacher and director Corey Mitchell, who is seen at the conclusion of the film receiving a Tony Award for excellence in theater arts education. Six of the cast members, including Mekhai whose father is in prison, Britany who lives with her mother and siblings in a hotel, and Phillip whose absent dad was killed when Phillip was age 12, are highlighted, allowing viewers to peek into their lives and better understand their personal struggles.
Without narration, director Joanne Hock lets the action fill the screen as we revel in the students’ successes and love for their tough love director of this amazing musical based on Alice Walker’s award-winning novel of the same name. Follow-up information shows the status of the spotlighted students who are enrolled in colleges or professional dance programs. The college and university price is $129. Superior.