BISHOP GRIMES JUNIOR/SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL – Over the weekend, Bishop Grimes Jr./Sr. High School presented “Mamma Mia!” as the last-ever musical staged inside its Kirkville Road building in East Syracuse. But despite the planned closure of the private Roman Catholic school and its merging with B ishop Ludden, the cast and crew were able to place their sadness to the side for two hours and convey to the crowd utter joy with the jukebox musical featuring the hit songs of the Swedish pop group ABBA. In the building’s gymnasium on March 28 and 29, the school’s performing arts program shared the comedic story written by playwright Catherine Johnson and conceived by Judy Craymer that tells of a young lady on the eve of her Greek island wedding tasked with picking out her birth father from a group of three men from her mother’s past. Throughout, there was skipping and boat rowing through the aisles, with plenty of disco moves, sparkling dresses, sunglasses and floral shirts. The musical features songs like the break-up ballad “The Winner Takes It All” and “Money, Money, Money,” and it ended with a dance-along medley of the title song, “Dancing Queen,” and “Waterloo” to get those in the crowd up out of their seats. At the conclusion of Saturday’s show, students involved gave speeches thanking their teachers as others around them hugged and held back tears. The lead choreographer, Sophia Steffen, said there’s no better group of people to work with and that she was “so proud” of everyone for making this year’s musical and previous shows what they were. Steffen specifically shouted out the musical’s producer, Sarah Kinne, for all she’s done as an organizer behind the scenes, for the smooth flow she creates between scenes, and for the great expectations she holds for the students. She said Kinne was someone who inspired her to want to become a teacher herself one day. Bishop Grimes senior Piper Kruse, who played the mother, Donna, thanked the director of the show Danielle Carter, a teacher of chorus and theater at the school. Kruse said that students like her seek “the Carter seal of approval,” calling her a “genuinely fantastic teacher” who uplifts people unaware they needed to be uplifted and who made her success in vocal music possible. “You are my lighthouse,” Kruse told Carter. “You are my guiding light in the darkness, and you keep me from dashing myself against the rocks.” Teachers also took a moment to have a senior night for not just the class of 2025, but also the classes of 2026 through 2030 as a way to honor all 63 student participants one grade at a time starting with the seventh graders. Kinne, a Spanish teacher at the school whose husband Pat is vice principal of Bishop Grimes and whose son Alec played Sam in the show, said after giving out those roses that the BG performing arts program has grown in size every single year. “The specialness of our program is how accepting it is of everybody,” Kinne said. “It does not matter who you are—you are welcome to perform here at Bishop Grimes.” She added that it’s sad to see things come to an end but that it was “a party of a show” to go out on, capping off the program on a fittingly optimistic, upbeat note even though it wasn’t known that the Syracuse Diocese would be closing down Bishop Grimes when “Mamma Mia!” was chosen as this year’s musical. Carter, who started at Bishop Grimes as a student teacher and joined the performing arts program four years ago, said the songs of “Mamma Mia!” and their lyrics took on new meaning after hearing the disheartening news, as the singing and dancing gave the students an outlet to channel their emotions into while brightening their spirits. During her speech onstage, Carter expressed gratitude to the community’s parents for their support and their presence at the school’s productions over the years. She also thanked the Bishop Grimes staff and administrators for their trust in her and her colleagues to do what they do, her production team for the shared passion they’ve put into the arts program, and the pit musicians for their talent that brings shows like “Mamma Mia!” to life. Carter said she hopes and prays that no matter where everyone ends up next school year, they make a point to seek out the type of family they’ve formed at Bishop Grimes and to not stop until they do “because that is the BG way.” The school’s band teacher, technical director and pit conductor Jason Kammerer—known as just Mr. K.—said that over his 11 years at Bishop Grimes his approach has been to “make something out of nothing” whenever he could and to add touches to the productions to make them even better. He said he’s loved teaching students the ropes when it comes to lighting and sound, that chance to pass on knowledge and real-world skills having a “life-changing” impact for some that have walked through Bishop Grimes’ doors. “We may not be in the same school building next year—that’s a real possibility—but I’ll always be in their corner, and they’re in mine,” Kammerer said. Grateful for the lasting connections fostered at Grimes, Kammerer said that even if it’s not known what the future holds, that feeling of family is something “you can’t take away.” ...read more read less