CHERRY TWP — Moniteau’s school board took time to celebrate what it described as a wildly successful musical put on by its high school students March 13 and 14 when Mary Poppins flew through Moniteau’s high school auditorium.

Darcie Bishop, a fine arts teacher at Moniteau Jr./Sr. High School and director of the musical, said at the board’s Monday, March 23, meeting the Friday night show of the musical had close to 750 people in attendance. She said roughly 450 to 500 people would have been considered a sell-out.

Over that weekend, about 1,600 people total saw the performances, Bishop said. For reference, Moniteau School District has about 1,100 students enrolled.

“Obviously I love all the kids. I love what I do. But this year was just really special,” Bishop said. “You get ups and downs, things like that. This is my sixth or seventh year doing the musical. We started out at 34 kids. This year, I think we had 127 on stage with the band and stage group and about 30 others who built the stage for us.”

Renee Hewitt, president of the Moniteau Scholarship Foundation, said this year’s musical was the best they’ve had for fundraising held at the performances, making over $1,500 for financial assistance for students continuing their education past Moniteau.

“To motivate those students and to inspire them to put on the performance they do, it’s terrific,” Hewitt said. “I think it’s such a great thing, not just for our students, but I think it’s wonderful for the community. I see so many people here who haven’t been to this school in years. It’s such a wonderful community event.”

Bishop and board members said students from different walks of life, along with parent and teacher volunteers, came together and made the musical “feel like a community event” where everyone came together like a family.

“It was electric. If you were there Friday night, you could feel it in the crowd,” Bishop said. “The kids were so supportive of the ones that were on stage and I had a dozen tell me afterward, ‘hey, I’m doing that next year.’”