Stage Magic Takes Students from The Fitz to Broadway

PALM COAST, Fla. – There was no shortage of enthusiasm as Broadway star Mandy Gonzalez gathered in the Black Box of the Fitzgerald Performing Arts Center on Thursday evening for a private meet and greet with the students selected as part of her back up choir.

Eager to show off their talents and pay homage to the performer, the young vocalists teamed up in groups to sing portions of a song from Hamilton, while others softly sang snippets for the songstress as she autographed books from her ‘Fearless’ young adult series.

“It’s just a really great opportunity to get to sing with someone like her. Her story, her background, it just inspires me so much, and it’s a privilege and an honor to sing with her,” said Buddy Taylor Elementary School seventh grader Andy Hicks.

One of two young men selected to perform, Hicks said it was a great honor for him, and something he will never forget.

The opportunity for students to perform with Gonzalez is something she is doing on her national tour and during her show she offered her gratitude to the students as parents throughout the performing arts center recorded the moments on cell phones.

Connecting students to professional opportunities is a vital part of the Fitzgerald Performing Arts Center at Flagler Auditorium’s mission.

Director Amelia Fulmer, a career music teacher, has made it her mission to put arts in the spotlight across Flagler County. Working with Ann Paris of the Flagler Performing Arts Academy, the pair helped oversee the auditions for the Mandy Gonzalez show.

“You don’t know how it’s going to go because we brought kids in from everywhere. They are so excited and so well prepared. It’s been really great,” said Fulmer, giving a nod to retuning Flagler Palm Coast High School alumni Nicole Tilton Gross.

Gonzalez, a top name among high school and college age performers, has held leading roles in Broadway shows including the smash hits “Wicked”, “In the Heights”, and “Hamilton”. Fulmer understands the impact an interaction with professional performers can have on a student’s life.

“How many of them, if they went to New York would actually get to sing with Mandy Gonzalez? Would they actually talk to Mandy Gonzalez? No. She’s on Broadway. One of the stagehands actually saw her on stage as Elphaba (in Wicked), and she’s totally fangirling,” shared Fulmer.

Setting the expectation for excellence, Paris and the students warmed up with Gonzalez during the sound check, allowing them to experience the professional side of the career they are pursuing.

“I’m hoping it will really get them to pay attention when we do sight reading in class. If you want to be a musician, you need to be a musician. It’s a serious business. It’s fun but work too,” said Paris.

Gonzalez proved why students were so excited to work with her during her performance, with warm, friendly banter, life stories, and rich, pure vocals, that are nearly unmatched on the Fitzgerald Performing Arts stage.

Drawing students from as far away as Winter Park and St. Augustine, by the end of the night, there was magic in the air as they lent their voices to “Fearless” and “Firework”, closing the show with a standing ovation.