Due to the Covid Omnicron variant, the drama department’s play, Don’t Tell Me I Can’t Fly, was postponed because the San Diego Unified School District canceled all indoor activities.

According to a recent statement from the San Diego Unified School District, “Effective February 10, 2022, indoor events and activities, such as performances, shows, plays, and athletic events, are permitted to resume as long as the event coordinators and all participants and attendees adhere to updated health and safety guidance.”  However, the play’s director Mr. Michael Heu had already told the Hoover community that he was postponing the play which was going to honor Black History Month.

“It’s unfortunate that Covid affected our production,” expressed Mr. Heu.  “But I didn’t want to cancel the play so moving it to a later date was the best choice right now.”

Don’t Tell Me I Can’t Fly is about a nine-year-old girl named Tonia growing up in a working-class African American home in Milwaukee in 1964.  Tonia’s artistic and creative soul is in conflict with her mother’s growing mental illness and her father’s anger at racism during the time.  Her parents want her to not draw attention to herself, but she is able to escape into her own world of imagination and sometimes brings her best friend Theo with her.

The play features a young cast new to the drama department.  Freshmen Jahzara Rios plays the lead character Tonia.  Junior Shakur Jackson plays her best friend Theo.  Freshmen Tatyana Leonard plays Alma, Tonia’s mother, and Sophomore Amanuel Tesfahunegn as Leon Bridge, Tonia’s father.  Sophomore Schekania Simon rounds out the cast as Tonia’s nurturing Aunt Franny.

Mr. Heu has stated that he is looking at April 15 and 16 for the performances.  It will be the first drama production in the new performing arts complex.  It will also be the first play in Hoover High School’s 90 year history to feature an all African American cast in a play about an African American family.