Students at 70 First High School, Cumberland County Schools' school of the arts, performed the musical Sweet Charity after weeks of preparation, theater director Susanna Wagner and student performers said.

The production, presented at the district arts high school, offered students on-stage roles and behind-the-scenes responsibilities that staff and students said reinforced teamwork and hands-on technical skills. "This is what I've always been wanting to do. I've always dreamt of just acting on stage and acting in front of an audience and acting for people, and this has really completed me, and I can't wait to do more," a lead student said.

Susanna Wagner, theater director, said the program offers learning beyond performance. "It's a way for when we can get recognized for our talent because there's a lot of us who can sing and dance and act," Wagner said. "The amount of teamwork, the amount of integrity, the attention to detail, the focus, the ability to work together as a team, problem solve, to understand emotion, emotional literacy, financial literacy. They know what the stuff costs, what it takes. It is the most cross curricular thing and I think people forget when they look at music or they look at theater."

Wagner described specific technical and practical lessons students learn while mounting a show. "I have kids doing construction math to build the set," she said. "I have kids doing math when we're figuring out the microphones and we're looking at the frequencies. How much watts can my light fixtures take on this dimmer? And you know, I have kids sewing. I mean, it just affects so many things and I always tell people that if you want somebody that can fix something on the spot and somebody that has that drive to get it done, hire a former theater kid because we are bulletproof and I feel like my kids are getting there and and and I'm building this next bulletproof version of thespians and I love them."

A promotional narration accompanying the coverage described a standing ovation and said students brought "Broadway magic to the heart of Cumberland County," noting choreography and weeks of work behind the show. The narration also stated, "Cumberland County Schools proudly champions the arts, empowering students to dream big, express themselves and shine."

The presentation of Sweet Charity at 70 First High School illustrates the district's school-of-the-arts model, combining performance opportunities with technical theater training. No budget figures, performance dates beyond the production itself, or formal district policy changes were discussed in the provided remarks.