Harriton Seniors Belt Out Their Belief in Raising $$ for Japan

Two Harriton High School seniors created nothing less than a benefit concert as their senior project, staged Friday evening at MilkBoy Coffee in Ardmore.

A packed house of fellow students, friends and family members ponied up $5 at the door, while Alex Cooper and Hiba Ansar gathered their group of 16 singers and prepared to belt out numbers from "Rent," "Next to Normal," "Spring Awakening" and "American Idiot."

Strangers who stumbled upon the show while waiting to gaze upon the Classic Car parade for First Friday saw an impassioned, professional performance. The 18 musical theater songs chosen were those "that embody a common theme of acknowledgement, discovery, hope, and bettering the world around us," the students wrote on their web page for the event.

The evening was billed as "I Believe in Japan," and aimed to raise at least $3,000, in addition to the $680 that had already been collected on behalf of victims of Japan's devastating earthquake and tsunami earlier this year.  

In addition to Cooper and Ansar, the "cast" was made up of Anjali Desai, Hailee Murphy, Julia James, Emily Goldenberg, Jake Ohlbaum, Dan Rapuano, Tori Mueller, Sean Green, Virginia Vass, Emily Featherman and Jess Steerman.

For info on how to donate, visit here or here.