Parkland students get standing ovation at Tony Awards after drama teacher honored

On Sunday, The 72nd Annual Tony Awards honored the students and teachers of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. The kind gestures included sharing the stage with members of the school’s drama department, who performed “Seasons of Love” from the musical Rent.

The show also honored Melody Herzfeld with the Excellence in Theatre Education Award. On Feb. 14, the drama teacher huddled with her students in a classroom at Marjory Stoneman Douglas while a shooter roamed the hallways.

“We all have a common energy,” Herzfeld said in her acceptance speech, which didn’t air during the CBS broadcast. “We all want the same thing. To be heard. To tell our truth. To make a difference. And to be respected. We teach this every day in every arts class.”

The students’ performance of “Seasons of Love,” which included a crowd-pleasing solo, was capped off with a standing ovation from the star-studded audience. But perhaps nobody happier than Herzfeld, who watched with an ear-to-ear smile as her students held their own on theater’s biggest night.

Check out this a Parkland shooting survivor being honored on The Voice:

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