Junior high talent is exceptional

To the editor:The musical talent in Cape Girardeau never ceases to amaze me. Is it something in the water? Saturday night I had the pleasure of seeing my second musical by the students at Central Junior High School in their magnificent production of "Beauty and the Beast." Had I gone to an earlier performance, I would have returned to see it a second time.

Most people have no idea of the time, energy and finances it takes to produce a show. This one was immense. Mike Dumey's talent, passion for the theater and, more importantly, his students are rare commodities indeed. The students know how lucky they are to have him. I want all of Cape Girardeau to know that as well.

Thank you to each and every person who had a part in this show. I look forward to having many of these fine talents in the Southeast Missouri State University's School of Performing Arts. We got the River Campus just in time to accommodate these rising stars.

JUDITH FARRIS, Artist in Residence, Department of Theatre and Dance, Southeast Missouri State University, Cape Girardeau