Lakewood Theater Program

 
ABOUT LWE THEATER
 
Lakewood Elementary has an incredible theater program! At its heart, this program is about creating opportunities for all kids to grow and shine.

Whether a student is performing in a grade-level production, participating in Broadway Kids!, running lights or sound, helping backstage, managing the front of house, or supporting the cast in another way, every student has the chance to be part of something bigger than themselves. Along the way, they build confidence, creativity, teamwork, communication skills, and lasting memories.

It takes dedicated teachers, supportive administrators, incredible parent volunteers, our PTA, Friends of Lakewood, and families who believe in the value of the performing arts. Their support has allowed the program to grow into something that has become a special part of the Lakewood experience.
 
Questions? 

2026/2027 SHOW

Dust off your ruby slippers and get ready to walk the yellow brick road! The LWE Broadway Kids! Musical for the 2026-2027 school year is Wizard of Oz! Audition dates are set, with more details including times, preparation, and sign-up info to come!

 

All 4th and 5th graders are welcome to audition. Can't wait to see our Stallions light up the Emerald City!

 

 
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GRADE-LEVEL PERFORMANCES 
 
Every year, each grade works on and offers a special performance throughout the year. This means that every student in the entire school has the opportunity to participate in theater, music, or production each year!
 
Kindergarten
  • Kindergarten students celebrate Spring with an annual musical showcase featuring seasonal themes, movement, and singing. Over the years, performances have included Valentine's Day, Groundhog Day, and other fun Spring-themed programs. For many students, this is their very first experience performing on the Lakewood stage.
 
First Grade
  • First grade traditionally presents a Thanksgiving performance celebrating gratitude, kindness, family, and community.
 
Second Grade
  • Second grade opens our performance season each fall with a musical showcase that helps students build confidence and excitement for performing.
 
Third Grade
  • From 2022–2024, each third-grade class created and performed its own original adaptation of Peter and the Wolf. Rather than simply retelling the familiar story, every class reinvented it with its own setting, characters, and creative ideas. Over the years, audiences met pirates, fairy tale characters, television reporters, holiday characters, and many other imaginative versions of the classic story. Every class brought its own personality to the production, making each performance completely unique while introducing students to one of classical music's most beloved works.

  • Beginning in 2025, we transitioned to professionally written jukebox musicals built around familiar popular songs, giving students another exciting way to combine acting, singing, and storytelling.
 
Fourth Grade
  • From 2022–2024, each fourth-grade class created and performed its own original historical musical connected to the study of westward expansion and the Oregon Trail. Students wrote the scripts, created original song lyrics, and, during the early years of the project, even composed their own music using digital composition software. It became a unique blend of history, creative writing, music, and theatre that gave students ownership of every production.

  • Beginning in 2025, we transitioned to professionally written educational musicals, primarily by composer John Jacobson. This change expanded casting opportunities, allowed for double-casting, and provided even more students with featured roles while maintaining strong curriculum connections.
 
Fifth Grade
  • Every fifth-grade student participates in a full-scale holiday musical, giving each graduating class one final opportunity to perform together before moving on to middle school.
 
Student Technical Theatre

Not every student wants to be under the spotlight, and that's something we've intentionally embraced. Every production includes opportunities for students to explore technical theatre and production leadership. Students assist with lighting, sound, backstage organization, props, scene changes, stage management, and production support. This past year we also expanded into front-of-house operations, with students helping manage the audience experience before performances. Together, our backstage crew and front-of-house team give students a chance to discover that great theatre depends on teamwork in every part of a production.
 

OUR HISTORY

The Lakewood Elementary theatre program began in the summer of 2018 when Dallas ISD introduced its Broadway Junior initiative in partnership with Musical Theatre International (MTI). At the time, Mr. Erich Reich was teaching Special Education, but had the idea of bringing a Broadway-style musical theatre program to Lakewood. Mr. John Tate and Mr. Reich attended an intensive workshop led by Broadway professionals and representatives from MTI, where they learned how to launch and grow a school musical theatre program.

That training became the foundation for what has grown into today's incredible Lakewood Elementary theatre program!

Our first production was Disney's Aristocats KIDS in the spring of 2019. The following year we prepared Willy Wonka KIDS for spring 2020. Auditions had been held, the cast had been selected, and rehearsals were well underway when COVID shut schools down, preventing the production from ever reaching the stage.

When students returned, we didn't simply restart the program—we expanded it. What began as one annual musical has grown into a comprehensive performing arts program that provides performance opportunities for students across every grade level while continuing to produce full Broadway-style musicals each spring.

None of this would have been possible without the support of our principal, Brittney Thompson, who believed in the vision from the very beginning and encouraged the continued growth of the program. Bringing theatre opportunities to nearly every grade level was a huge undertaking, and her support made that growth possible.

The success of the program has also been the result of an incredible team effort. Classroom teachers embraced performances connected to their curriculum, fellow Fine Arts teachers and directors invested countless hours, and our PTA and Friends of Lakewood (FOL) have supported productions every step of the way. The enthusiasm of our students, families, volunteers, and community has helped turn these performances into cherished Lakewood traditions.
 
Broadway Kids! Productions
 
  • 2019 — Disney's Aristocats KIDS
  • 2020 — Willy Wonka KIDS (prepared but canceled due to COVID)
  • 2022 — The Music Man JR.
  • 2023 — Seussical JR.
  • 2024 — Annie JR.
  • 2025 — Into the Woods JR.
  • 2026 — Cats: Young Actors Edition
  • 2027 — The Wizard of Oz: Youth Edition (upcoming)

 

 

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Beginning with Cats, we also expanded our licensing partnership to include Concord Theatricals while continuing our relationship with Musical Theatre International, giving our students access to an even broader catalog of productions.
 
Directors Through the Years
  • Erick Reich
  • Megan Benton
  • John Tate
  • Lynn Nguyen
  • Emma Frank
  • Kelli Hale
  • Julianna Ramirez
  • Ashleigh Gibbs
  • Nicole Jones
  • Caleb Hardy

Every one of these directors and teachers helped shape the program, and we are grateful for the time, creativity, and dedication they've invested over the years.