Sing!, often stylizedSING!, is an annual student-run musical production put on by some high schools inNew York City. 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 atMidwood High School inBrooklyn, New York in 1947.[1][2]
ALibrary of Congress archive of the papers of entertainerDanny Kaye, who went to high school with Tillis,[3] contains playbills ofSing! performances atMidwood High School from the years 1953–1957.[4]
The 1989 filmSing is based on a fictionalSing! production. According toThe New York Times review of the movie, the film's production notes say thatPaul Simon,Neil Diamond,Barbra Streisand,Carole King andNeil Sedaka, who attended various Brooklyn andQueens high schools in the mid to late 1950s, took part inSing! productions.[5] OtherSing! celebrities includeStuyvesant High School'sTim Robbins andPaul Reiser,[6]andJames Madison High School'sJanis Siegel.[7]
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 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 byLincoln 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 won in 2008 with their Senior-Sophomore production entitled "Carnicus"; andTottenville High School, which participated for the first time, won in 2009 with Senior Sing X's production of "Narneville", a twisted fairy tale.[8]Inter-Sing 2015 in Brooklyn was broadcast on live TV in Brooklyn.[9]