Photo By MELANIE HERSCHORN, For The Patriot-News

They’ve got rhythm. They’ve got music. They’ve got good times. Who could ask for anything more?

Sounds of Broadway permeated Foose School in Harrisburg the last week of September as more than 100 elementary students danced and sang during school hours for three days. The fourth day, the students, dressed in matching T-shirts, put on a show of the musical numbers they’d learned.

The fifth- and sixth-graders took part in the first “residency” program held by Rosie’s Theater Kids — an arts program for underprivileged children in New York City. York-based Shipley Energy provided a $15,000 grant to bring the theater group to Harrisburg.

Actress, comedian and talk show host Rosie O’Donnell heads the Big Apple-based program.

“Broadway — the arts — it changed my life and gave me hope,” she said in an email. “I’m thrilled to be able to offer these kids at Foose Elementary this introduction to musical theater.”

But for some of the students, learning new dance moves and song lyrics from shows including “Pippin,” “Girl Crazy” and “42nd Street,” might be more than just an introduction. It could be their big break.

Aniah Brown, 10, said she and her cousins dance “freestyle” at home, but she had never taken a real lesson, especially from a professional instructor.

“I get excited about writing and social studies, but this is like a real big thing. This is my first time ever doing it. It shows that kids can really do something you just have to really put your mind to the test,” she said.

Saul Ramos, 10, who’s only seen a play once courtesy of a school trip, said he loves performing. “It’s cool because everybody can see me,” he said.

Brown and Ramos, both in fifth grade, also were singled out for a special honor. The two students have each been awarded a $2,000 scholarship that covers all expenses to attend Rosie’s Theater Kids’ summer camp in New York City for a week in August. The students will get to meet O’Donnell and Broadway celebrities. They’ll also get professional headshots and have a meeting with a talent agent.

Smiling ear-to-ear, Ramos said he loved having the crowd cheer for him at school, but that was only the beginning. “I can’t wait to go to New York to perform for thousands of people,” he said.

Richard Askey, Foose’s music teacher, said his eyes welled up with tears when he saw how happy his students were to take part in the program.

“This is one of the communities that took the hardest hit in the [state] budget. And one of the first things that the budget takes away is the opportunities for our kids in the arts, which is just so important,” he said. “Kids in low socio-economic communities like this, they don’t have the opportunity to go to piano lessons, to go to acting lessons.”

Thecla Morganstern, residency artistic director with Rosie’s Theater Kids, said children deserve more arts education than they’re afforded.

“An area like Harrisburg that is pretty close to New York, I mean, it’s heartbreaking,” she said. “When I spoke to the music teacher, he said ‘We don’t have a sound system. We don’t have a microphone. We don’t have a working piano.’¤”

Morganstern said she hopes administrators and the state Education Department will be inspired to bring more arts programs to schools after seeing what the students accomplished in a matter of days. She also wants the students to remember how the program touched them on a personal level.

“To only spend three days with us and stand onstage and feel confident and successful, that’s a wonderful feeling, and that’s not a feeling that kids always get in school,” she said.

Fifth-grader Kuwan Lyles won’t soon forget the special school week he had, which greatly differed from the typical classroom dynamics. “Sometimes we goof around in class and get in trouble for dancing and singing,” he said. “You’re not getting yelled at or anything for it. They’re showing you the way to do things. This is helping kids learn more about themselves.”

MELANIE HERSCHORN, For The Patriot-News