E. C. Glass High School students are hard at work preparing for the opening weekend of their spring musical, “Footloose.” This classic favorite tells the story of a boy and his friends’ fight for the right to self-expression in a repressed farm town where dancing has been banned.
Dance is the star of this show, and a very special guest has been working with E. C. Glass students over the past few months to infuse the moves with Broadway flair and Lynchburg charm. Broadway choreographer, director, and playwright Jennifer Paulson-Lee, an alumna of E. C. Glass and Linkhorne Middle School, has returned to choreograph the show.
Paulson-Lee’s portfolio is extensive. This past April, she directed, choreographed, and co-authored “According to Howard,” which will open as a main-stage off-Broadway production in the fall of 2026, as part of the York Theatre Company’s “New2NY” series. Other recent choreography work includes the Manhattan Concert Productions’ “The Scarlet Pimpernel,” which showed at the Lincoln Center’s David Geffen Hall, as well as “Magic To Do,” which is running on three vessels under a special partnership between Princess Cruises and Stephen Schwartz. Her directing credits include “Flyer, the Musical,” “A Time to Be Born,” “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” and more. She co-authored Frank Wildhorn’s revised “Wonderland” alongside Gabriel Barre and choreographed its premiere at the Tuacahn Center for the Arts in Ivins, Utah.
We sat down with Paulson-Lee to learn why she’s passionate about giving back to the theatre program that helped kickstart her career journey.
E. C. Glass alumna and Broadway choreographer, director, and playwright Jennifer Paulson-Lee.
Lynchburg City Schools (LCS): It’s been more than 40 years since your time at E. C. Glass, and you’re here today sharing your industry knowledge and wisdom with students. What impact did Glass Theatre have on your life?
Paulson-Lee: I really loved my time at Glass. It wasn’t until I left and went out into the world that I realized not everyone gets the kind of opportunities I had in high school. The education was top-notch, and the teachers and faculty were incredible. I’ve seen other high schools where the theatre programs are not as good, but at E. C. Glass, the theatre and music programs were operating at a very high level. I participated in theatre, marching band, and show choir.
I was at Glass my freshman through junior year. My family moved to Raleigh, North Carolina before my senior year, and I graduated from Broughton High School in 1982. Because I was empowered by my experience at Glass, I jumped right into the arts at Broughton. I became the color guard captain and got involved in theatre. Lots of people remarked that it was strange I’d only been at Broughton for a year considering how involved I was. My high school years laid the foundation for me to pursue dance and theatre in college and beyond.
LCS: How did you know you wanted to pursue a career in theatre?
Paulson-Lee: Even though I enjoyed ballet and theatre in high school, I never planned to make it into a career. My major at East Carolina University (ECU) was originally marine biology. But one day, I saw this girl I knew walking around on campus. I knew she was a dancer, and on a whim, I followed her to a ballet class.
As I watched the dancers, something shifted inside me, and I knew I had to pursue dance. It was a gut feeling, an intuition, that this was the path for me. I changed all my classes to dance and threw myself into it. I look back at that period of my life, and it’s like everything else just dropped away. My focus was entirely on dance. In the three and a half years that followed, I completely transformed as a dancer. I made amazing progress and fell in love with the art of storytelling through movement.
I had an amazing mentor who really changed my life. Her name was Mavis Ray Booth. She’d been Agnes de Mille’s assistant choreographer before coming to teach ballet at ECU.
Jennifer Paulson-Lee works with Glass Theatre students at “Footloose” rehearsals.
LCS: Can you tell us about your career journey after college?
Paulson-Lee: I participated in professional theatre every summer while I was at ECU, so by the time I graduated with my bachelor’s degree in dance, I had a nice amount of experience and a lot of real training to take into the workforce. After graduation, I took a summer theatre job in Galveston, Texas.
From there, I drove to New York City, where I got a scholarship at a dance school. I worked behind the front desk in exchange for 10 free classes a week. Mavis had told me to call a director named Michael Shawn when I got there, so I did. He was holding auditions for a pre-Broadway workshop, and I made the cut. That was the beginning of my career in New York.
I danced and acted for about ten years, during which time I got great opportunities to travel overseas and see the world. I was pretty quickly asked to be dance captain and assist choreographers during rehearsal. I began the shift to my career as a choreographer in 1997.
Eventually, I also started doing more directing work. Choreographers are directors in their own right, as movement is a key tool for character building and storytelling in and of itself. The two roles are intricately intertwined. When you work with the same directors repeatedly, you form a team, and roles blend into each other as you’re asked to do more.
Most recently, I’ve been transitioning into more writing. It’s been a natural progression as I’ve explored many different aspects of theatre over the years.
LCS: Your mentor clearly had a big impact on your life. In many ways, you’re paying it forward and acting as a mentor for students at E. C. Glass. What does that mean to you?
Paulson-Lee: I’m conscious of the fact that they may see me as a mentor figure, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to share my knowledge with them. I think it’s important in any industry to find a way to give back and share what you can with the younger generations. If we’re not investing in our young people, what are we doing?
I would not be who I am today without the people who mentored me when I was a student. I’ll never forget the impact Mavis had on me. There were also lots of educators who poured into me during my time at Glass. The teachers were phenomenal. I remember learning a lot from Jim Ackley, the theatre director at the time.
Jennifer Paulson-Lee works with Glass Theatre students at “Footloose” rehearsals.
LCS: What made you decide to come back to E. C. Glass as a guest choreographer?
Paulson-Lee: At the beginning of COVID, my husband and I decided to move to Virginia. We anticipated returning to New York after the pandemic, but ultimately decided to stay. While my industry was shuttered, I was revising Wildhorn’s “Wonderland.”
I happened to reconnect with (E. C. Glass Theatre director) Allison Daugherty and (Opera on the James Executive Director) Perry Payne Millner at the opera. The three of us were all at E. C. Glass at the same time. Allison asked if I’d like to guest-choreograph the show, and I said yes. It’s my opportunity to give back to a high school that I loved and that helped me become who I am today.
LCS: “Footloose” is opening this weekend. What’s your experience working on this show been like?
Paulson-Lee: Working on “Footloose” has been fun. These are some really talented kids. They’re good people. I’m blown away by the gutsiness of these kids to get onstage and sing and dance. That takes courage.
We have a large range of experience within our cast. Some kids have never danced but are game to learn, and some have more experience. Sometimes, you can get the most fun, organic movement out of dancers who aren’t overly trained. Whatever their experience level, my job is to open them up to finding their own movement. They’re collaborators in this process; I’m not just dictating what they should do. As often as possible, I invite them into the process and give them space to creatively channel their character through movement.
Together, we’re creating a show that’s right for this specific group of kids in this particular moment. We’re making something that can’t be replicated because it’s unique and authentic to them. I hope the audience sees the cohesiveness, heart, and energy that are present in this show.
LCS: What would your advice be to young theatre students today as they prepare for careers of their own after graduation?
Paulson-Lee: Trust yourself. Be kind, honest, and diligent, and don’t make excuses. And listen. Learning to collaborate with people, be flexible, and keep an open mind are all incredibly important skills to have, both in the performing arts and in life.
Glass Theatre will present “Footloose” on May 1, 2, 9, and 10 at 7 p.m. and May 10 at 2 p.m. Don’t miss this chance to see Paulson-Lee’s choreography in action. Get tickets here.
