Poland Players, director mark milestone

POLAND

Candy Fonagy has 670 kids – well, “play” kids.

That’s the number of students who have been part of the Poland Players, the high school’s theater group, since Fonagy became director in fall 2001.

“Once you’re one of my play kids, you’re my play kid for the rest of your life,” she said.

All past and present Players (and audience members) are invited to a reunion April 17. The date aligns with a performance of the Players’ spring show, “Cyrano de Burger Shack,” a modern retelling of Edmond Rostand’s 1897 “Cyrano de Bergerac.”

“Cyrano” also marks another event: Fonagy’s 30th show as director. Reflecting on that milestone, she said she’s filled with pride.

She’s proud that “with these kids, we could draw that number of people and that diversity of students. We’ve had everything in here from your typical play kid, to athletes. We’ve had the starting quarterback in the play; the band; the academic challenge team; NHS; the valedictorian,” she said.

She’s also proud of what they have all done together: “All those lives touched mine, and I got to touch theirs.”

Sitting in the back row of the auditorium during an afternoon “Cyrano” rehearsal, she recalled some of the most memorable moments from previous shows.

Read more about that, the teacher and this year's play in Saturday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.