Newtown High School’s (NHS) Unified Theater program performed its original play The Threads of Friendship on Friday, January 9 and Saturday, January 10 in the high school’s auditorium.

The Threads of Friendship told the story of two girls, Anna and Mary, who reflected on their friendship over the years. It flashed between important moments in their life, from celebrating birthdays and making sand castles to graduating high school and traveling to Los Angeles.

Unified Theater combines students of all abilities and has them come together to write, direct, and perform their own show.

Janice Gabriel, who teaches Unified Theater at NHS, said this year marks the 11th year of the program.

“The students always do a great job and are really proud of themselves,” Gabriel said. “It gives students who would not normally get to be on stage the chance to be on stage, and it gives some of our nonverbal students a voice, too.”

Outside the auditorium was a booth where people could buy friendship bracelets made by the Unified Theater students. There was a wide variety of bracelets on the table, each with its own unique design. Some had smiley faces, while others had words such as “friendship” and “unified” on them. People could also write notes of encouragement to the Unified Theater students, which were shared at their cast celebration following the show.

Some cast members were so excited to perform that, even as Gabriel started addressing the crowd, they ran back and forth backstage, making their final preparations for the play.

Gabriel called Unified Theater shows “really special.”

“It’s unlike any theater production you’re ever gonna see,” Gabriel said. “We always say it’s ‘perfectly imperfect,’ and that’s my favorite part.”

She told the audience this year’s production was all about the importance of friendship and what it means to have a friendship that lasts decades. Gabriel helped the students with the theme, thinking about her mom and her best friend who, up until the best friend’s passing last year, had been friends for 74 years. They met when they were five, according to Gabriel.

“It’s just a special relationship that they had, and that’s kind of where we got this idea for the show from,” Gabriel explained.

With that, it was time for Unified Theater students to take center stage.

The show began with Anna and Mary thinking back to when they first met: a mutual friend’s seventh birthday party. Students bowled, played a race car game, and even tried their luck at a claw machine before opening presents. After winning a bear at the claw machine, the two girls became best friends.

The next memory showed the girls going to the beach, entering a sand castle contest, and getting into a big fight. Of course, one fight was not enough to break their inseparable bond.

After that, Anna and Mary remembered going to the amusement part with their friends. Beyond some hijinks waiting in line and needing to use the restroom, the group had a lot of fun riding a roller coaster together.

Then came a bittersweet memory: when they graduated from high school. They quickly made a cap and gown for a friend who forgot theirs, just in time for graduation. To celebrate, all the students got on stage and danced to “We’re All In This Together” from High School Musical.

Anna and Mary looked back on other fun moments together, such as dressing up for a college Halloween party and moving to New York City.

The show ended with the girls saying they are really lucky to have had each other for the majority of their lives, promising to be friends forever.

“We’re All In This Together” played again as the Unified Theater students got on stage and bowed.

Gabriel thanked Nighthawks Theater Spotlight, a newly formed booster group for the high school’s theater productions, for their support. Together, they took a moment to congratulate Unified Theater’s graduating seniors, handing each of them a bright yellow flower.

With Unified Theater now into its 11th year, Gabriel said she is incredibly proud of her students and how the program has grown over the years.

Unified Theater originally started as an after-school club, but became a class the following year thanks to a grant, according to Gabriel.

“I wanted to do [Unified Theater] before we got the grant, and then the grant helped us bring it as a class instead of a club,” she explained.

Gabriel said Unified Theater shows are “always a special time.”

She added, “It’s always perfectly imperfect, but we have a great time and our students deserve a full house each and every time they get to perform.”

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Reporter Jenna Visca can be reached at jenna@thebee.com.