Their homes and school burned in the Eaton fire. But these theater kids rise from the ashes

This is simply a communicative astir 60 kids who mislaid their homes, their theater, their full neighborhoods to the Eaton occurrence arsenic it raged done Altadena connected a ferociously windy nighttime 1 week into the caller year.

For the students of Altadena Arts Magnet and Eliot Arts Magnet schools, however, the communicative does not extremity there. Because successful a singular show of assemblage spirit, these kids became the characters of a antithetic play — this 1 astir young survivors who, determined to transportation connected their outpouring musical, transmission their nonaccomplishment into a one-night-only, sold-out show of “Shrek the Musical Jr.” connected 1 of L.A.’s astir prestigious stages, the 2,100-seat Ahmanson Theatre.

At 7:01 p.m., a infinitesimal aft the amusement is acceptable to begin, the formed huddles backstage astir their director, Mollie Lief, and their choreographer, Billy Rugh. The temper is quiet, anticipatory — reverential.

“Whatever happens connected that stage, it volition beryllium brilliant,” Lief tells her students, earlier holding up a tiny charm. “In my manus is simply a phoenix rising from the ashes, with a greenish ‘Shrek’ background. All of you are genuinely phoenixes rising from the ashes, making thing beauteous that volition past forever.”

Rugh past rallies the kids, telling them, “Reach for the full assemblage and beryllium super, ace freaks,” a notation to 1 of the musical’s biggest numbers.

“Energy, energy, energy, energy,” the radical chants together, breathing arsenic one, readying to tempest the signifier and wow the excited guests, galore of whom are from burn-scarred Altadena and Pasadena. With that, the kids scatter to their places, the location lights spell down, the signifier lights travel up and the amusement begins.

“Once upon a time, determination was a small Ogre named Shrek, who lived with his parents successful a bog by a tree,” reads 13-year-old Dakota Bradley, from an oversize storybook, opening “Shrek the Musical Jr.,” astir displaced fairy communicative characters who are saved from the evil machinations of a callous overlord by an improbable leader who finds existent emotion successful a wholly unexpected way. There are farts and burps for laughs, but mostly the amusement is astir self-love and acceptance — astir however goodness tin and volition prevail, adjacent successful the darkest of circumstances.

Altadena Arts Magnet and Eliot Arts Magnet students successful “Shrek the Musical Jr.” astatine the Ahmanson.

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Ninety minutes aboriginal the theatre erupts successful cheers and an effusive lasting ovation for the ecstatic young thespians.

“I’m sooooo happy,” says a breathless 11-year aged named Journee Everly, who played Donkey, arsenic she rushes offstage aft an encore bow.

“I’m sooooo sad,” says 12-year-old Monahmi Ruiz, who played Dragon.

The girls look astatine each different and laughter giddily, an unspoken acknowledgment that they meant the aforesaid thing. Joy and sorrow are intermingled due to the fact that this expansive acquisition — involving nonrecreational sets, costumes, lighting and sound, arsenic good arsenic videos of idiosyncratic encouragement made for the kids by Broadway superstars Lin-Manuel Miranda, Daveed Diggs and the casts of “The Lion King” and “Aladdin” — is over.

Jolie Simmons, left, Journee Everly and Dylan Hunt successful “Shrek the Musical Jr.”

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

The amusement indispensable spell on

Tuesday, Jan. 7, was a bully time for the recently minted formed of “Shrek the Musical Jr.” They gathered aft schoolhouse for their archetypal array work and headed location with their scripts, brimming with excitement astir the musical. Lief remembers that erstwhile idiosyncratic opened a doorway to the outside, it looked a spot similar the tornado country from “The Wizard of Oz.” It was scary but besides melodramatic and entertaining for the kids who had nary mode of knowing what the aggravated Santa Ana winds were susceptible of.

Less than 2 hours later, Altadena erupted successful flames.

Rugh, an accomplished choreographer with movie and TV credits — observed what helium believes whitethorn person been the opening of the occurrence from his location adjacent the Pasadena Rose Bowl. He was sitting successful his surviving country watching the upwind marque a tangle of his backyard erstwhile helium saw “a small occurrence start” successful the distance.

Choreographer Billy Rugh and play teacher Mollie Lief oversee the accumulation being rehearsed astatine McKinley mediate schoolhouse successful Pasadena successful aboriginal April.

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

The kids helium taught would walk that nighttime and the pursuing time fleeing. Almost fractional of the school’s colonisation mislaid homes, and galore much would beryllium displaced, including much than three-quarters of the formed of “Shrek the Musical Jr.”

Lief woke astatine 6 a.m. that Wednesday to a location filled with smoke. She lived adjacent Altadena, and similar galore successful that position, including Rugh, was forced to permission not due to the fact that of a mandatory evacuation bid but due to the fact that of the overwhelming fume that smothered the country similar a toxic blanket.

As she was driving to San Diego with her family, Lief saw her module radical chat airy up with the unfolding terror: colleagues who mislaid homes, full families displaced, parents successful request of a spot to spell — and past a video of Eliot Arts burning, followed by photos of the destroyed theater.

“I was successful the car with 2 small kids, and I didn’t privation to scare them, but I was conscionable stifling sobs,” Lief says.

Thirteen-year-old Jolie Simmons, who played Princess Fiona, besides saw the video of her burning school. That was aft her location burned down. She was staying with her mother, father, 4 siblings and grandma — affectionately known arsenic Nema — astatine the Pasadena Convention Center, which had been transformed into an exigency alleviation facility.

Eliot Arts pupil Jolie Simmons, who plays Princess Fiona, practices 1 of her songs earlier this period astatine McKinley mediate schoolhouse successful Pasadena.

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Jolie’s Nema had lived successful their family’s location since 1977 and didn’t privation to leave. Jolie’s begetter and Nema spent the nighttime of the occurrence hosing down the location successful an effort to ward disconnected the flames. When the mulch successful the backyard caught fire, they yet left.

Tears outpouring to the girl’s eyes arsenic she recalls however overmuch she loved her neighborhood, the galore hours she spent successful her friends’ houses — and however the assemblage felt similar a large family.

“Eliot truly was my 2nd home, due to the fact that I’ve played truthful galore antithetic roles there,” says Jolie, whose household has yet to find imperishable housing.

Lief recalls an email Jolie sent astir 4 days aft the fire. It work thing to the effect of, “Hey Ms. Lief, my location burned down, but should I beryllium getting disconnected book?”

It was this email, on with different from young Journee that drove location what Lief and Rugh already felt successful their bones: The amusement perfectly indispensable spell on.

“They had already mislaid truthful overmuch and were disconnected truthful much, that this could beryllium 1 happening that we power them not losing,” Rugh says.

Students from Altadena and Eliot Arts rehearse their outpouring philharmonic earlier this period successful Pasadena.

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

‘Seeing your kid execute connected this stage’

Center Theatre Group and Pasadena Playhouse, 2 institutions that had a agelong past of collaboration with students from Pasadena Unified School District, soon marshaled resources to assistance the kids signifier their production.

The period earlier the fire, CTG brought territory kids to the Ahmanson to spot “Once Upon a Mattress” starring Sutton Foster. Dylan Hunt, 13, who played Shrek, remembers watching with his mother.

“My mom, she likes making these truly annoying comments,” Dylan says, smiling, adding by mode of explanation, “Because she’s a mom.”

The comments were astir however bully the amusement was — however bully the time was — and Dylan decided to adhd his ain thoughts to the mix.

“I looked astatine her, and I said, ‘You cognize what other would beryllium nice? Seeing your kid execute connected this stage.’”

And then, “under the worst circumstances,” Dylan says, it happened.

Altadena Arts Magnet and Eliot Arts Magnet students be the matinee for “Shrek the Musical Jr.” astatine the Ahmanson Theatre connected Friday.

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

“We are determination for our assemblage erstwhile our assemblage has ever been determination for us,” says Pasadena Playhouse Artistic Director Danny Feldman. “It’s a precise earthy thing. It was astir lifting everyone up — those kids and their families — successful a infinitesimal they request it.”

The theatre leaders brought nonrecreational vocal coaches onboard for rehearsals and welcomed the kids to the Ahmanson for a afloat time of talks and interactions with their nonrecreational staff, including CTG’s signifier and accumulation managers, method and store directors, carpenters, electricians, and hairsbreadth and constitution supervisors.

Those aforesaid staffers helped to signifier the last shows — 1 matinee and the expansive evening performance, some connected Friday. Scenery, props and fractional the costumes were donated by the Anaheim-based, family-run signifier institution 3D Theatricals, and the designers waived their fees. Rugh provided the different fractional of the costumes from his nonrecreational collection. The lighting bundle was donated by Volt Lites. A elephantine QR codification connected the backmost of the glossy programme featuring headshots of the young actors invited assemblage members to donate toward rebuilding the arts programs astatine the 2 schools.

Drama teacher Mollie Lief gives absorption to students prepping for “Shrek the Musical Jr.” earlier this month.

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Unfortunately, that wealth mightiness not beryllium enough. In February, Lief learned that she was 1 of astir 150 Pasadena teachers being laid disconnected arsenic the territory deals with a reported $37-million fund deficit.

She kept that hard accusation to herself during rehearsals, not wanting to adhd tumult oregon disruption to her students’ lives. Then, connected Monday, she yet told them.

The kids, Lief says, are talking astir making a May schoolhouse committee gathering their adjacent stage, truthful they tin archer territory leaders conscionable however overmuch their theatre teacher means to them.