By Marion Filler
Between managing the theater program at Morristown High School and teaching 2nd grade at Assumption School, Katie Adams found time to compete in this year’s Morristown Onstage.
“It’s pretty crazy, I’m not going to lie,” said the Mt. Olive resident. She will be singing Make You Feel My Love, a Bob Dylan composition that was a hit for Billy Joel and Adele.
Adams describes it as a feel-good song.
“We all need extra love right now with everything going on in the world,” she says.
On March 10, 2021, Adams will compete, virtually, against five others in the 19-and-over division for the $1,000 top prize. All 14 finalists also will have a shot at the $500 audience choice award, among other honors.
Morristown Onstage has raised more than $1 million for programs in the Morris School District since the show’s inception 14 years ago.
The pandemic has driven this edition off the Mayo Performing Arts Center stage and onto viewers’ computer- and TV screens.
Fifty-five acts submitted audition videos; the finalists are re-shooting their home performances for the competition.
Theater has been Adams’ passion ever since her student days at Felician University in Lodi. It was just across the river from New York, and theater tickets for students were easy to come by. “We were Broadway-a-holics,” says Adams, 38.
She never aspired to a professional career, and never has sung before a large audience. Still, performing “was always part of the dream,” Adams says.
The dream included auditioning for American Idol and singing at her own wedding. She even sings directions to her 2nd graders throughout the day during remote learning. “It’s part of my everyday life,” Adams explains.
Theatrical productions at Morristown High School are a particular source of satisfaction. “I love the environment. I love the kids. These kids do everything from soup to nuts. They build the sets, they make the costumes, and do the makeup.”
This year’s production, Maybe Baby It’s You, will be virtual. It’s a collection of stories about the journey to find a soulmate.
“We were able to film in groups of two and three that made it possible,” says Adams.
The school broadcasting team is doing the editing, but there is no release date yet.
According to Adams, the 2019 production of The Addams Family was among the most nominated school shows in the state by the Paper Mill Playhouse, “so we must be doing something right.”
