By FRAN BETLYON Special to the Palisadian-Post I’m so glad we had this time together, just to have a laugh or sing a song!’ Young, delightful voices singing Carol Burnett’s famous sign-off are heard ringing through the bright studio at 522 Palisades Dr. in the Highlands. The song marks the end of a musical theatre class with Janet Adderley, the charismatic owner and director of the Adderley School, and it signifies the tried and true Adderley technique. Adderley, whose school has been part of the musical theatre community in Pacific Palisades since 1993, does much more than teach children to sing and dance, she instills joy and confidence in each child through intimate mentorship. Young graduates have gone on to star as young Cosette on Broadway and Winthrop in ‘The Music Man’ at the Hollywood Bowl, and to perform for Hillary Clinton and with Andrea Bocelli at Madison Square Garden. Guest teachers and performers have included Broadway veterans Brooks Almy, Gerry McIntyre, David Foster and Paolo Montalban (Prince Charming in Disney’s ‘Cinderella’). The school is celebrating its 18th anniversary with the introduction of new instructors and an expanded schedule of classes for ages 3-13. Melissa Chait joins the Adderley ros’ter straight from Broadway leading roles in ‘Wicked’ (in which she replaced Kristin Chenoweth to star as Glinda), ‘Titanic’ and ‘Grease.’ Her professional experience will supercharge the school’s choreography and she will also be directing many shows, including ‘Wicked.’ Three other new instructors hired by the school all have strong musi’cal theater training and experience. Adderley and her staff are gather’ing props, scripts and musical scores in preparation for this fall’s semester, which will feature abridged ver’sions of classic musicals such as ‘Cats,’ ‘Anything Goes,’ ‘The Sound of Music’ and ‘Annie.’ Janet will also adapt the popular Disney movie mu’sical ‘Lemonade Mouth’ with help from the film’s executive producer Debra Martin Chase and music supervisor Steven Vincent. That show will feature a guest appearance by the film’s star rapper, Adam Hicks. But Adderley is readying her staff for much more than a few 11 o’clock show stoppers and jazz hands. ‘When a child does a good job, I am thrilled and blessed that the spirit has given me a purpose in life,’ Adderley says. ‘And something that gives me such joy. Not everybody gets that.’ Fall registration is underway and classes start the week of September 12 and run Monday through Saturday. Contact: (310) 230-1184 or adderleyschool@yahoo.com.
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