Demolition, construction of new facility to begin after last show June 29
Southern Nebraska Register
The Pius Players theater department of Pius X High School in Lincoln will present Disney’s “Frozen Jr.” at the end of June.
The show will be the final performance in the school’s existing LPAC (Learning and Performing Arts Center).
Through special arrangement with Music Theater International, Pius Players has been granted permission to create a summer collaborative opportunity with current freshmen Pius Players and junior high students in the Lincoln Diocese. Students spend an intense three weeks putting the show together and presenting three performances to the community.
“It’s a wonderful opportunity for younger students to work with our current Pius performers,” said co-director Sarah Moje. “Not only are our current Pius Players incredible leaders to these younger students, but it also fosters beautiful relationships that continue to grow as our junior high students graduate and enter Pius with a foot already in the door.”
Pius X student Kennedy McCarville, who plays Anna in this year’s production of “Frozen Jr.,” agreed.
“Being in ‘Godspell’ last summer (as an eighth-grader) helped me so much in my transition into my first year with Pius Players,” she said. I was able to get a feeling for what it was like to be a part of this amazing group. The environment is so positive, welcoming, and inspirational!”
This year is particularly poignant, as this will be the final show ever to be performed in the current LPAC at Pius X. Demolition and construction of a new performing arts facility will begin immediately after the production of “Frozen Jr.” The new space will include a new band room, black box theater, and a brand-new mainstage theater, complete with a fly system (for curtains and backdrops), dressing rooms, full technical shop and costume and prop storage. Students involved in “Frozen Jr.” will be the last to perform in the LPAC – and will be the first freshmen-through-senior Pius Players to perform in the new theater in two years.
Pius X student Aidan Shasserre, who plays Kristoff in “Frozen Jr.,” called the Pius Players “a community rooted in love.”
“Being a part of Pius Players has given me the opportunity to witness true, genuine love, and to experience it firsthand,” he said. “And while it is bittersweet that this is the final show in our LPAC, it’s also an incredible thing to know that the people we close off the LPAC with will be the people we open our new performing arts center with.”
“We are deeply grateful for the generosity of the diocese, the Pius X administration, donors, and prayers of many people to make this new space a reality,” said co-director Mary Odgaard. “Our mission at Pius X Fine Arts is to ‘Reclaim the Arts’ for the Lord and train our students to discern the many ways the enemy tries to distort Truth, Beauty, and Goodness, particularly in the arts. Having a state-of-the-art mainstage and black box theater allows us to expand even more on all that we’re already doing, bringing a whole new level of beauty and professionalism to our productions, and magnifying the love of the Father to our students and community.”
“Frozen Jr.” runs Friday, June 27 and Saturday, June 28 at 7 p.m., and Sunday, June 29 at 1:30 p.m. Tickets are $5 general admission at the door, cash, check, or card. Running time is one hour. Contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with questions.
