'Bubba Show' gives canceled high school musicals a showcase

Hundreds of students were disappointed when spring high school musicals were canceled due to the covid-19 pandemic, but a few of them have been able to share their songs over the airwaves, thanks to the “Bubba Show” on 100.7 Star.

Since May 20, one young performer has been featured each weekday on the early morning radio talk show. The lineup continues through Friday.

“It was 100% Melanie’s idea,” says host Mark “Bubba” Snider of his co-host, Melanie Taylor.

“Those kids have lost a lot of activities this spring, sports and everything else,” Taylor says. “They’ve lost so much.”

“We said, ‘Wait a minute, we’ve gotta do something for them,” Snider says.

The showcase came together with surprisingly little effort.

“We talked about it once on the air and did one Facebook post, and that’s all we did,” Snider says. “We got email after email after email, and before you know it, we had our first performer.”

The lineup was first-come, first-served from the email queue, Taylor says. There were so many responses that each performer has come from a different school.

Schools represented include Belle Vernon, Ligonier Valley, Blairsville, Pine Richland, Elizabeth Forward, Monessen, Penn-Trafford, Beth Center, Westinghouse Arts Academy, West Allegheny, Armstrong, Penn Hills, Geibel Catholic, Propel Braddock Hills and Hillcrest Christian Academy high schools and Greensburg Salem Middle School.

The young stars perform live from home via Zoom calls.

“The kids are so excited to have their voices heard on the radio,” Taylor says.

Listeners love the showcase, too, according to the hundreds of comments they’ve received, Snider says.

“The word that comes to mind is ‘overwhelming,’ in the most positive way possible,” he says — especially when they see a parent crying in the background as their child performs.

“It’s amazing how much unbelievable talent there is in this area,” he says. “Every day we look at each other and say, ‘Can this get any better?’”

Taylor says she and Snider have “all the respect for the arts.” While her two daughters are dancers, Snider’s three daughters all were involved in musicals as students at South Fayette High School.