''Sing!'', often stylized ''SING!'', is an annual student-run musical production put on by some high schools in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. It is a theater competition between the various grades, with the setup between grades differing from school to school (such as sophomore-freshman vs. seniors vs. juniors, senior-sophomore vs. junior-freshman or freshman-senior vs. sophomore-junior). ''Sing!'' was conceived by Bella Tillis (1913–2013), a music teacher at

Midwood High School Midwood High School is a high school located at 2839 Bedford Avenue in Brooklyn, New York City, administered by the New York City Department of Education. It has an enrollment of 3,938 students. Its H-shaped building, with six Ionic order, Ioni ...

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

in 1947. A

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

archive of the papers of entertainer

Danny Kaye Danny Kaye (born David Daniel Kaminsky; ; January 18, 1911 – March 3, 1987) was an American actor, comedian, singer, and dancer. His performances featured physical comedy, idiosyncratic pantomimes, and rapid-fire novelty songs. Kaye starred ...

, who went to high school with Tillis, contains playbills of ''Sing!'' performances at

from the years 1953–1957. The 1989 film ''Sing'' is based on a fictional ''Sing!'' production. According to ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' review of the movie, the film's production notes say that

Paul Simon Paul Frederic Simon (born October 13, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter known for his solo work and his collaborations with Art Garfunkel. He and Garfunkel, whom he met in elementary school in 1953, came to prominence in the 1960s as Sim ...

Neil Diamond Neil Leslie Diamond (born January 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. He has sold more than 130 million records worldwide, making him one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling musicians of all time. He has written and ...

Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand ( ; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress, songwriter, producer, and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success across multiple fields of entertainment, being the ...

Carole King Carole King Klein (born Carol Joan Klein; February 9, 1942) is an American singer-songwriter and musician renowned for her extensive contributions to popular music. She wrote or co-wrote 118 songs that charted on the Billboard Hot 100, ''Billbo ...

and

Neil Sedaka Neil Sedaka (; born March 13, 1939) is an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Since his music career began in 1957, he has sold millions of records worldwide and has written or co-written over 500 songs for himself and other artists, collabo ...

, who attended various Brooklyn and

Queens Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

high schools in the mid to late 1950s, took part in ''Sing!'' productions. Other ''Sing!'' celebrities include

Stuyvesant High School Stuyvesant High School ( ) is a co-ed, State school, public, college-preparatory, Specialized high schools in New York City, specialized high school in Manhattan, New York City. The school, commonly called "Stuy" ( ) by its students, faculty, a ...

Tim Robbins Timothy Francis Robbins (born October 16, 1958) is an American actor. He is best known for portraying Andy Dufresne in the film '' The Shawshank Redemption ''(1994), and Jacob Singer in '' Jacob's Ladder'' (1990), as well as winning an Academy ...

and

Paul Reiser Paul Reiser (; born March 30, 1956) is an American actor, comedian, and writer. He played the roles of Michael Taylor in the 1980s sitcom ''My Two Dads'', Paul Buchman in the NBC sitcom ''Mad About You'', Modell in the 1982 film ''Diner (1982 f ...

, and James Madison High School's

Janis Siegel Janis Siegel (born July 23, 1952) is a multiple grammy-winning American jazz singer, best known as a member of the vocal group The Manhattan Transfer. Musical career In 1965, Siegel made her recording debut with a group called Young Generation ...

Inter-Sing

Inter-Sings are Sing competitions held between different high schools. They have been held in Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island and Long Island.

Sheepshead Bay High School Sheepshead Bay High School is a defunct public high school in Brooklyn, New York City, New York (state), New York. Closed in 2016, the building currently operates as Frank J. Macchiarola Educational Complex, housing several smaller high schools ...

had a long string of victories in the three-school competition called InterSchool Sing (or Inter-Sing) during the 1970s and 1980s, punctuated by wins by Lincoln High School. Inter-Sing first started on Staten Island in the late 1970s between Tottenville and Susan Wagner High Schools. More recently, Susan E. Wagner High School won the Staten Island competition in 2007 with their Junior production of "The JSV Circus";

Staten Island Technical High School Staten Island Technical High School, commonly called Staten Island Tech, SITHS, or Tech by Staten Islanders, was founded in 1988. Located in Staten Island, New York City, the State school, public Specialized high schools in New York City, spec ...

won in 2008 with their Senior-Sophomore production entitled "Carnicus"; and Tottenville High School, which participated for the first time, won in 2009 with Senior Sing X's production of "Narneville", a twisted fairy tale. Inter-Sing 2015 in Brooklyn was broadcast on live TV in Brooklyn.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sing! Public education in New York City Theatre in New York City

Inter-Sing

See also

References