John Long graduated from Charles Wright in 1964 and returned to teach English from 1971 to 2005. John was a little older than his classmates in that first graduating class of students, so he is officially Charles Wright’s oldest living alum. John has many memories of the language and performing arts programs and he’s keeping a close eye on the new building project.

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The Charles Wright Players debuted their production of The Wizard of Oz last night with heart, brains and courage. Based on the MGM movie, the musical includes all the standard songs that made it a classic – Somewhere Over the Rainbow, Ding! Dong! The Witch is Dead, We’re Off to the See the Wizard and many others. Of course, the CWA students and their director, John Forier, have given the show a few unique twists, particularly in the costuming and staging departments, but these additions only add to the show’s charm.

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Julie Rains Kangas has been an active member of the Seattle/Tacoma vocal arts community for 20 years. She taught choral music at Charles Wright Academy in both the Middle School and Upper School between 1992 and 2004. Julie’s husband David teaches science in the Upper School. Their daughters are current students. Julie was on campus recently and shared her memories of the school’s performing arts program.

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At Charles Wright, foreign languages and performing arts aren’t extracurriculars and electives, they’re an integral part of the curriculum from the Beginning School all the way through the Upper School. In recent years, the Beginning School’s production of Rainbow Crow has become a bit of a tradition around here. Now all our pre-kindergarten class fans can watch the 2007 production online.

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