Upstaged

Shira is Jewish and will have a bat mitzvah. In a bar mitzvah scene at the temple, we learn that the bar mitzvah boy’s parsha was parshat Noach. A classmate says that he enjoys the Torah blessings. There’s also a scene at the bar mitzvah party.

• Shira is shy but finds the courage to try out for the school musical, and she perseveres even when she gets a role that she initially finds embarrassing. Over the course of the book, she learns to accept herself as she is and to recognize who her true friends are.
• Paul is a loyal friend who doesn’t care what the popular kids think of him. He is comfortable in his own skin and has no interest in behaving differently in order to fit in.

There’s a small amount of fat shaming of Jason, who is referred to as “chubby.” There’s some crush talk and kissing talk, but it’s age appropriate. There is one kiss, which takes place in the play.

Shira’s shyness nearly prevents her from performing in the school play. Have you ever overcome a hurdle in order to do something you really wanted? What was it, and what steps did you take to achieve your goal?

The Music Man is a rare musical in that it wasn’t written by Jews. Jewish composers and lyricists dominated American musical theater for decades and are still writing big hits in the 21^st century: Wicked by Stephen Schwartz is just one example. Experts suggest that part of the reason for the success of Jews in musical theater is that they drew on diverse styles including klezmer and jazz, and that in shows like Showboat, West Side Story, and Cabaret, they addressed subjects that were groundbreaking at the time, including racism and the rise of fascism in Germany. The ubiquity of Jewish composers and lyricists is such that a line in a song from the Monty Python musical comedy Spamalot says, “You won’t succeed on Broadway if you don’t have any Jews.”