SLHSMTA School Highlights: Lutheran High School South
Nominated For Outstanding Musical Level 2
Written by 2025 SLHSMTA Student Reporter, Mary Corkery
Welcoming in a new era of theater for their school, Lutheran High School South told a story of resilience and comradery both on and off stage with their production of Little Women.
Based on the classic novel of the same name, Little Women tells the story of the four sisters and how their relationships shift and grow over time.
“I think the biggest takeaway from our show is that family is forever, [and] it’s not always the way you think it should look. Life happens in the unexpected and changes over time and that’s a good thing,” Lutheran South director Phylan Peters-Bahkou said.
For the cast, though, the love wasn’t confined to the story on stage. Peters-Bahkou said that her cast became a family of their own throughout the rehearsal process.
“This show was a full company show, we had some first time freshmen and seasoned seniors. I feel they are unique in that they truly are a family. They mentor each other on the stage and off, they work for each other’s benefit and they pull each other up when they see someone struggling. Their strengths are definitely their friendship and love for eachother as well as their passion for the stage,” Peters-Bahku said.
Beyond their close bond with one another, the students were also incredibly committed to the production and were always willing to lend a helping hand– a trait that was especially helpful with Little Women, as it marked the school’s first production in their new theater.
“I have watched them fill roles on stage and off. No job is too big or too small for any one of them to step into. Growth is a key element in this cast. This was our inaugural show in a new facility. It was an opportunity for every cast, crew and pit member to grow into our new space,” Peters-Bahkou said.
Lutheran South’s Jubel Center for the Arts opened in late February, providing the program with a brand-new, 626 seat theater. However, Peter-Bahkou said the switch to a new space came with its own challenges. When snow storms brought life in St. Louis to a halt at the beginning of 2025, the cast and crew of Little Women were also forced to pause their transition from gym to theater.
“This was the first show in a space we were not sure we were going to get to be in. Our theatre space has been a working gymnatorium for 42 years. All shows had to be scheduled around athletics and use of space. We were still in the gym at the beginning of our rehearsal season for LW. Then the ice hit and our materials were delayed by 2 weeks because they were frozen on a truck somewhere in St Louis. Little Women was scheduled to happen in March but our building was delayed and we were not even on our stage until March 03,” Peters-Bahkou said.
Despite the delays, Little Women finally took the stage April 10-12. Peters-Bahkou said that even when the show seemed impossible, the hard work of her students helped the production come to fruition.
“We were lucky enough to get an extension on our contract to delay the opening and then had to work around events that were scheduled in the space because everyone wanted to be there. It felt like it wasn’t going to happen. Our team worked more than I could have ever asked. Students came in completely memorized and ready to block, our understudies were amazing to work with and partnered with their leads to make sure we were always covered. Everything fell into place and we had an amazing show,” Peters-Bahkou said.
Overall, the show garnered 8 total nominations, including Outstanding Direction (Peter-Bahkou), Outstanding Faculty Technical Execution (Evan Sanft), Outstanding Orchestra, Outstanding Ensemble, Outstanding Supporting Actor (Kevin Friel), Outstanding Supporting Actress (Lauren Welsch), and Outstanding Lead Actress (AnnaKait Peters-Bahkou). The cast performed “The Weekly Volcano Press” in the Outstanding Musical Level 2 medley at the SLHSMTA ceremony on May 15.
