New Trier admin details Lagniappe’s decline, while supporters continue push for its revival

A month after New Trier High School students, parents and alumni asked the School Board and administration to reconsider its decision to cancel Lagniappe-Potpourri, its longtime student-run variety show, school leaders provided more details on why the program was canceled.

In December, school officials announced that the 86-year-old variety show would no longer continue. Replacing the show would be a student-run board overseeing production of the freshman/sophomore musical.

One of the reasons cited for Lagniappe’s cancellation was declining student participation.

At the School Board’s regular meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 18, Denise Dubravec, Winnetka campus principal/assistant superintendent, spoke more on that, saying the low participation changed the program.

“This year (the show was held in the fall) the leadership positions in set design and technical director needed to be filled by adults,” she said. “Far fewer students have been interested in writing than in the past. Music creation has, more and more, been put in the hands of a hired professional.”

Dubravec partly blamed a more demanding college-application process, “making it more difficult for seniors to balance the time requirements of this large-scale production.”

She also reported that the audience for Lagniappe has fallen by more than 50 percent over the past decade, and in 2018, the show reportedly cut its runtime down from two hours with intermission to a one-act production with no intermission.

The latest iteration of Lagniappe, she said, is not what school administrators envision for the program.

“This has not become the leadership or performance experience that we want for our students,” Dubravec said.

Turning to the planned student leadership board for the frosh/soph musical, she said there has been “a positive response to this idea, which will make us a lighthouse school in the country for student leadership in the arts and is similar to opportunities at highly respected colleges.”

Dubravec, however, acknowledged that the leadership board will not offer all of the same opportunities as Lagniappe, specifically noting that students will not be able to write and perform comedy or write music for the performance.

“This is what we will continue to discuss with students as we look for creative production ideas on a smaller scale,” she said.

As news of the program’s cancellation spread, New Trier students, parents and alumni began fighting to change the minds of district administrators.

An online petition to save the show drew more than 2,500 signatures and dozens of comments in support of Lagniappe.

Students and community members confronted the board of education in January to seek answers and encourage reconsideration.

Additionally, a letter signed by 282 alumni and former New Trier educators was sent to district officials in late January. The letter lists a number of celebrated performers — from Rock Hudson and Ann-Margret to Rainn Wilson and Jake Johnson — who got their starts in New Trier’s performing arts programs. It also suggests that administrators enable renewed energy in Lagniappe.

“We urge you to reconsider — and honor New Trier traditions and the evidence that the performing arts play a vital element in a first-rate American high school,” it reads.

Performing arts faculty plan on meeting with students and community members who have expressed interest in Lagniappe on Feb. 26. She also said conversations will continue to determine what potential alternatives to Lagniappe are available for students to write and perform original content.

“We’ll consider all the options for a smaller scale comedy or variety performance, and I look forward to reporting on our progress and the ideas our students have generated in the coming months,” Dubravec said, also referring to the plans as “a work in progress.”

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