Parkland students sang Rent's 'Seasons of Love' at the Tonys

Parkland students sing Rent at the Tonys — (Image credit: Theo Wargo/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions)

Robert De Niro isn't the only one who got a standing ovation at Sunday night's Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall in New York, but the drama students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School had to work much harder for theirs. Their drama teacher, Melody Herzfeld, was awarded the Excellence in Theatre Education Award, credited with saving dozens of lives when a fellow student at their Parkland, Florida, high school murdered 17 people with a military-style rifle on Feb. 14. A while after Herzfeld accepted her award, Glee's Matthew Morrison took the stage to laud the entire Stoneman Douglas drama department for turning pain into art, and then some of the drama students stepped up sang about how you can measure a life:

Here's a bit more of the performance:

You can watch Herzfeld's acceptance speech below. Peter Weber

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.