Valentine’s Day is supposed to be a happy day but for the students and teachers of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida it will never be another Valentine’s Day, it will be a day in which 17 students and staff were killed on Valentine’s Day 2018.
On February 14, 2019, HBO will debut SONG OF PARKLAND.
When Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School drama teacher Melody Herzfeld heard the fire alarm on Feb. 14, 2018, she was in rehearsals with her students for their annual children’s musical. Moments later, a Code Redsounded. Herzfeld rushed her 65 students into a storage closet while a shooter killed 17 teachers and students nearby. Filmed in the months following the shootings, when the Florida school community is grappling with the tragedy, SONG OF PARKLAND chronicles the dedication of teacherMelody Herzfeld and her theater students as they return to school and resolve to continue with their production. “This is the most important show you’re going to do, ever,” she tells them.
“This is our begin-again. This is our start-over.”
— Melody Herzfeld, drama teacher
I really thought the filmmakers did an outstanding job showcasing another side of the students from the school. It was also weird to hear their perspective on that day and how they survived. And credit drama teacher, Melody Herzfeld for her no-nonsense style in the all the chaos of that day. It’s hard not to feel the kids enthusiasm and willingness to step after the tragedy to get over the finish line to the final show. If you don’t cry, you don’t have a heart.
The touching documentary debuts THURSDAY, February 7 (7:00-7:30 p.m. ET/PT), one year after the attack, exclusively on HBO.
