Federal Way Public Academy student Alinea Kirshenbaum wrote and performed in a new musical titled “Catch Me If You Can” on April 30. This is the second musical she has written and performed in, after the debut of “City of Lights” last year, also through the school’s drama program.

The musical centers on a murder investigation in late 1960s Hollywood and the relationship between two aspiring actresses. The show also explores themes around problematic power dynamics between directors/producers and actresses in the industry and around the importance of clear communication in relationships.

Kirshenbaum said she was also inspired by themes around the contrast between “public scrutiny and what actually goes on behind closed doors.”

While some themes of pursuing a dream and dynamics between friends were similar between the two shows, Kirshenbaum said she enjoyed adding more serious elements into the plot of “Catch Me If You Can.” That being said, she still included a variety of “silly” elements, like a lawyer who was also a literal clown, and a tour guide named Tour Guide.

Kirshenbaum said she’s been working on the show for the past year. During last year’s dress rehearsal for her first musical, she said her drama instructor asked if she would be interested in doing it again. Since then, she has been working with her drama instructor, Derek Olsen, to create the show.

Providing the support to Kirshenbaum also meant a lot to Olsen, who said he also wrote a play in his freshman year of high school and the experience is “one of the things that changed my life.”

“It gave me confidence and helped me know that my talents and skills were needed,” Olsen said. He said he now appreciates the chance to open that pathway for other students.

“She expressed interest in writing a musical as a seventh-grader,” Olsen said of Kirshenbaum, and that after hearing some of her original songs, he worked with her to help achieve that goal.

Aside from the joy she found in writing the show, Kirshenbaum said she also really enjoyed the character she got to play. She named the character Marjorie Moss in the show after her grandmother: “I’m really loving that I get to play someone who is named after my grandmother in the ‘60s. It feels like I’m like her.”

FWPA is a college-preparatory school with about 300 students between grades six through 10. According to their website, “the school emphasizes a challenging ‘traditional’ academic curriculum for every student in every subject.”

The school’s structure means that despite Kirshenbaum’s status as a sophomore, this will be her last year of high school. Students are required to have a plan for their next step, and Kirshenbaum is still deciding between multiple college programs to explore next year. Many students enter the Running Start program that provides the opportunity to begin college early and even finish their high school education with both an associate’s degree and a high school diploma.

In addition to performing arts, Kirshenbaum is also a scholar representative to the Federal Way School Board along with Joseph Coker and Quinton (King) Jackson. These representatives “provide valuable input on school district operations — an area the superintendent as CEO is held responsible for,” according to the FWPS website.

Of that experience, she said, “I absolutely love it. I’ve learned so much about how our district works and how it runs.” She also appreciates learning about “all the effort that goes into my education every day” and added that it has really emphasized the “importance of student voice.”

The cast of “Catch Me If You Can” performs one of the show’s nine songs April 30 at the Federal Way Public Academy. Photos by Keelin Everly-Lang / The Mirror

In the second musical written by student Alinea Kirshenbaum (center), she and other student actors perform a song about a mother’s unconditional love. Photos by Keelin Everly-Lang / The Mirror