For the
LOVE of the
ARTS
ASK ANY ALUMNUS ABOUT THEIR EXPERIENCE OF VISUAL AND PERFORMING ARTS AT FORDHAM PREP AND YOU WILL HEAR THE NAMES OF LONGTIME FACULTY MEMBERS DOUGLAS OTIS , FR . MALLICK FITZPATRICK , SJ , FR . JOHN LEONARD , SJ , MARILYN HONIGMAN , TJ O ’ SULLIVAN ’ 98 , DYLAN LAGAMMA ’ 09 , AND OTHERS WHO HAVE INFLUENCED THEM .
James Andrew O ’ Connor ’ 94 as Sgt . Calhoun on the set of Hightown .
V isual and performing arts are given ample room to thrive at the Prep . Built in 1993 and christened in 1994 , the 1,000-seat Leonard Theatre ( named for Fr . John Leonard , SJ , “ The Patriarch of Fordham Theater ”), is home not only to the Fordham Prep Dramatic Society ( FPDS ) but also hosts scores of student events including the popular annual Christmas Assembly and productions . The Prep ’ s iSTEAM initiative , founded in 2018 , encourages students to think about art in connection to other subjects offering both academic classes and co-curricular activities in 3D printing , music theory , and other related courses . Recently , the Prep opened the Adlerman Makerspace and a new computer lab to facilitate these activities .
The history of the Prep ’ s visual and performing arts department and programs spans nearly 170 years . It includes countless alumni , some of whom you may have seen on TV or heard on the radio , community members like Susan Cronin P ’ 95 ’ 98 ( née McCarthy , Mount St . Ursula ’ 65 ), who is dubbed the prima donna of the Prep stage , and current students whose artwork you ’ ve likely come across on visits to Shea Hall .
The department draws on its vast past to inform its future . And the future is bright — like a spotlight on center stage in the Leonard Theater .
ABOVE : Susan Cronin P ’ 95 ’ 98 ( née McCarthy ), Mount St . Ursula ’ 65 , in the role of Lady Alice More in the FPDS play A Man for All Seasons .
BELOW : Sophia O ’ Brien ’ 23 ( Holy Child ) winner of the Roger Rees Award for her performance as Eponine in the 2022 FPDS production of Les Misérables .
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FORDHAM PREP RAMVIEW