Alex Vinante: "This showcase has really given me a feeling of connection to my cast mates and friends that I don't think would've gotten without it. Revealing that everyone's struggles were all in the same vein, showing me that we were fighting together. A showcase like this has never been done before, and I think it's a good fit for a situation that none of us have experienced in our lifetimes. Even though I didn't personally experience all of the emotions portrayed in this show over the course of the pandemic, I can't help but connect and emphasize. I hope you'll do the same."

Ali Matengula: "This showcase has been one of the most enriching learning experiences I've had throughout my theatre career. | learned so many new things about conceptualizing a show and had many opportunities to contribute. We all helped to create a theme for this showcase, brainstormed costume and set ideas, modified lyrics to fit our show, and manipulated the meanings of some numbers to help portray our ultimate message. This process made me extremely grateful for the staff that works behind the scenes day in and day out making our shows possible, it's not easy doing all those things and we as a cast only caught of glimpse of their duties. I would like to thank the crew and Palace staff that have worked on Palace Education shows. I would also like to thank my sisters for their never ending support and encouragement and my parents and family for loving and believing in me.

Anabelle Crawford: "I am so excited to get to share this showcase with everyone, we've all worked really hard to make it what it is. I think this showcase gave a lot of us the chance to work through a year of just complete insanity that none of us really knew how to cope with. The number "Pretty Funny" means a lot to me personally, I spent a lot of time trying to downplay or make light of a really bad time, so I found this song to be very relatable to my COVID experience. Another number that I love is "Could we Start Again Please", performing this song alongside the people I spend the majority of my weeks with and just coming together, singing, and doing what we love just reminds me that all the pain, and waiting was so incredibly worth it to be with these people again. I hope this show helps everyone in the audience to also cope with the crazy that is COVID and quarantine, and I hope you enjoy the show!"

Andy Quarnaccio: "I am so excited to be able to perform in this years PPC Senior Showcase. I'm especially excited for this show because we had a chance to recommend songs that we thought fit our quarantine experience. I recommend the song "All For The Best" because I felt like the two overlapping choruses described how I not only felt sad about not being able to see all my friends but also happy that I got to spend so much quality time with my family. I hope you enjoy the show!"

Beth Holt: "I recommended the song "One Day More" because during the lockdown I had always hoped there would be just one day more until the end. This was such a great show to work on, it really opened my mind up on everything that happened during lockdown. Talking about everything during COVID made me reminisce about the good and bad. I still feel effects of the lockdown such as, no candles on birthday cakes or people being on their phones 24/7 (I struggle with that one). It has been a great season at Palace and a real experience having our first unmasked show in education. I would like to thank PPC, my parents, my friends, and my dog."

Daniel Sonier: "COVID lockdown was a crazy time, but talking about it now made me feel happy that it is now mostly over and thankful that things are back to normal. I think that the worst thing about lockdown was not being able to go out anywhere for a long time. But it is great to be able to go anywhere now and I am grateful that my family and friends are okay."

Devon Masterson: "This show means a lot to me, due to the fact that COVID ruined a lot of opportunities for me, that I will unfortunately never get back. However, I was also able to make new memories and new friends and have growth. Over quarantine I was able to have a huge self discovery without fear of the outside world.

That's why I connect with the song "No More Fear", for me, it shows my discovery and my confidence of showing the new me to the world."

Gwen Hanna: "One song that I relate to in the show is "I Know It's Today" because it focus on the hope.

Everyday no matter how hard it get Fiona gets ready and keeps her spirts high believing today is the day things get better. Through COVID it was easy to get stuck in fear and anger, but this song focus on hope. Another song I relate to is "Could We Start Again Please." | like this song because it showed my experience of coming back to theater after COVID and try to create the same experiences as before. Also, get to see friends again after COVID."

Julia Chapman: "I suggested "The Negative" from Waitress because I thought of when I was exposed to COVID. When I got tested, I remember just waiting for that negative test to come back. Finally, Miss Jesee is amazing and I thank her for everything!!!!!

Kendall Condon: "Our company focusing on how COVID impacted us gave me the opportunity to talk about anxieties and feelings that I didn't know were still there. Openly expressing how everyone felt during quarantine released the still lingering feelings of loneliness I felt. Talking about what everyone went through helped me feel more open to discuss my feelings through this whole crazy COVID experience.

Although lockdown was a scary experience it also brought me closer to my family. I miss our family game nights and having the free-time to play online games with my brother. Being trapped in my house allowed me to discover my love for painting and reading. I am grateful for the time given to me to learn more about myself and truly find what I enjoy doing. I would like to thank my parents for putting up with me throughout quarantine, my brother for keeping me entertained and my dogs for giving me all the love and kisses I needed."

Quinn Helmcamp: "This showcase feels like a final chapter for me. This is my last year doing PPC and doing theatre in a pandemic has been a really big part of my life for the past 2 years. I suggested the pandemic theme because I wanted other people to know what it felt like from the perspective of a bunch of kids who do musical theatre. It definitely hasn't been easy for us. I've done at least 7 shows in a mask, socially distanced rehearsals, and even a COVID scare last summer which caused our show to get cancelled the day before our performance. But, we pushed through all of that and now it really feels like COVID is coming to an end, just as my PPC time is coming to an end too. I want to say thank you to all my fellow company members because we all went through this together, and thank you to the Palace for taking a risk and continuing to do classes and camps in a scary time. I'm forever grateful to have been a part of the Palace Performance Company."

Reagan McCabe: "When I found out our showcase theme was "pandemic themed" I had tons of ideas. It was so much fun talking to everyone about what we did during lockdown. I for one, got addicted to FaceTime.

It's crazy to see how people have changed because of lockdown and the effects it's left. I think this show encapsulates every bit of what I saw/felt in lockdown and I hope vou see it the same way I do!"

Sofia Rayas: "Talking about and working through all the things that happened during COVID really helped me channel and put my feelings into words for this showcase. I think that I've moved past the feelings of being in lockdown, especially recently, and overall, just ready for the future. Coming together as a group to make and put together something like this has been so special and I'm so excited to share it with people."