After mass shooting, a drama teacher shows why the arts matter

The intersection of arts, culture, and mass murder is nearly impossible to comprehend, but we’re getting there, sadly.

At last night’s Tony Awards, the drama kids at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas high school in Parkland, Florida went to Broadway to watch a bunch of Broadway stars watch them.

The Tony Awards gave its annual theater educator award to Melody Herzfeld, the drama teacher at the high school, who barricaded 65 kids in her classroom the day 17 people were slaughtered at the school.

“Obviously, what happened, that’s part of it, who those individuals are, that’s another part of it, the kind of resilience that those individuals have, absolutely,” she told NPR last week.

It was just the latest testimonial about why the arts belong in public schools.