On October 23, thirteen Class IV students made their theater debut in an original program ,by Performing Arts Teacher Scott Caron, "From Here to Somewhere". The second production of the 2025–2026 Performing Arts season, the play continued the school’s tradition of Class IV Follies, a show performed each year solely by freshman students. This year’s production, directed by Caron, combined multiple movies, songs, and books through themes of journey and self discovery. The production included elements from different genres and media, such as the movie Up, the novel The Little Prince, and Cheryl Strayed’s Wild.

In contrast with other Upper School productions, the Follies challenged brand new freshmen to explore different skills, such as performing under pressure and limited rehearsal time. One cast member, Ellie O’Connor ‘29, remarked, “it’s a very unique tradition to Milton, and I think that it’s a great way to get the freshman involved in theatre and actually showcase their abilities.” O’Connor also said that Follies was “such a rewarding experience to be a part of.”

The Follies provides a unique opportunity for freshmen, being the only production at Milton Academy that features students from only one grade. So, the Class Deans required the rest of the class to watch their peers perform.

Abe Laznik ‘29, another member of the cast, mentioned that his favorite part of being in Follies was “watching it come together... just seeing how [we] as a class work together and combine all the different abilities we all have, and then watching this become a marvelous production.”

Various cast members also shared this same sentiment, including Lily Hayashi ‘29, who noted the production was integral to the performance on stage as well. “My favorite part of Follies was the community that we were all able to build. I think over time we were able to be more vulnerable with our acting,” Hayashi shared. “Acting is a more vulnerable part because you have to express emotions which you don't in society,” she shared.

The vulnerability in each of the actor’s performances was something that shined through to multiple audience members, even moving some to tears in sections about loss of a parent.

Hudson Tulman ‘29 also shared his reflections on the show. “It was cool. I saw friends; I saw the scenes that they had mentioned briefly. It's definitely more fun to see people that I know than to see people that I don’t, so I definitely really enjoyed that.”