Parents

Get ready to see Rock City.

The TheatreWorks performers at New Rochelle High School want to take you there and some other tourist-luring locales in the musical See Rock City and Other Destinations, playing this weekend (March 14-16) in the Linda E. Kelly Theater.

Never heard of the show? That's just fine with the actors, who are eager to be the first ones many audience members see performing it.

"It brings a new level of interest, because you don't know what to expect," said senior Chloe Werner, who plays a Niagara Falls tour guide.

Director Anthony Stirpe steered clear of the more famous musicals and chose this relatively unknown show of vignettes of self-exploration, each centered around a different landmark.

"This show is about community and taking chances while moving forward," Stirpe said. "That's what we need right now."

Showings are Thursday, March 14 through Saturday, March 16 at 7:30 p.m., with a matinee at 2 p.m. on March 16. Tickets are $10 for adults, $7 for students and seniors.

Theater-goers will see the story of three sisters who travel together to scatter their father's ashes on Glacier Bay, and of Kate, a runaway bride, who is tempted to take a risk by the Niagara Falls guide.

"We're all trying to find something," said Anthony Johnson, who plays Jess, the character who heads to the titular Rock City with Dodi, played by fellow senior Melissa Ramondelli.

Students were enjoying the challenge.

"A lot of the harmonies are very complicated, and we tackle a lot of sensitive topics," said Donatello Immediato, a senior. He plays one of two friends who skip school to take a trip to Coney Island.

(The show also includes some slightly stronger-than-usual language, which Stirpe advises may be inappropriate for children under 13.)

The students also enjoyed putting on a show with plenty of substantive parts to play.

"There is no one character who's the lead," said junior Dylan Feldman, who plays Grampy. "Everyone gets to show their talent."

New Rochelle High School forensic science students had just learned about DNA evidence. Yesterday, they and some schoolmates gained perspective on the topic they could never get from science studies alone, when they heard the harrowing first-hand account of man wrongfully imprisoned for 16 years before DNA evidence proved that someone else committed the crime.

"I was a sophomore," Jeffrey Deskovic said of his wrongful conviction in 1990. "I was younger than most of you."

Despite the original DNA evidence in the case, Deskovic was convicted of murder on the strength of a confession he says was coerced. It wasn't until 2006 that Westchester County's then-District Attorney Janet DiFiore ordered another DNA test, which led to Deskovic's exoneration and release.

He spoke Thursday in the Whitney M. Young Jr. Auditorium to an audience of mostly juniors and seniors from two forensic science classes, the AP Government class, the Law in Government Class and others. He told them about starting the Deskovic Foundation to further his work on behalf of others who are in prison for crimes they did not commit.

"I wanted to take my work to the next level," he said. "I wanted to reach back into the prisons and free people - innocent people - who were in the same position I had been in."

He told them of the challenges of returning to society after 16 years - unfamiliar technology, lost friends and family members, the difficulty in finding a job. He received a master's degree from John Jay College of Criminal Justice and is set to graduate with a law degree from Pace University in May.

Speaking with the experience of a former inmate, he urged the students to appreciate what they have, enjoy sunlight and the freedom to travel and to understand that they can overcome difficulties. For those entering law enforcement, science or the legal professions, he implored them to dedicate themselves to doing the job well.

"Take your job very, very seriously, and go that extra mile," he said.

It was a message received by students such as senior Kimberly Sanchez, who plans to become a police officer.

"It helps me to see how I should be as a cop," she said.