So good, So good, So good!

Kate Hudson shines as Claire Stingl Sardina '80 (née Stingl) in the hit movie "Song Sung Blue," a tale of the rise and untimely demise of Lightning and Thunder, a Neil Diamond tribute duet that entertained tens of thousands annually at lounges, festivals, State Fairs, and Summerfest stages. If you knew Claire when she attended Messmer 1975-1980, you probably aren’t surprised. She sang in musicals, choirs, and special events throughout her four years here.

We caught up with Claire in February to talk about her Messmer days.

Messmer High School: What brought you to Messmer?

Claire Sardina: We lived on 66th Street near Capitol Court and went to grade school at Our Lady of Sorrows parish. My father died when I was nine and my mom raised six kids there–my two brothers, three sisters, and me. My mom wanted a Catholic education for us. My older brothers had gone to school at Messmer and liked it, so I was pretty familiar with it. I was already interested in music and I knew about the choirs and plays they had there. I wanted to be part of them.

MHS: Tell us about your musical career at Messmer.

CS: I got involved in music from the start. I lettered in choir, and I’m really proud of that to this day. We had a swing choir, a chorus…I did it all and loved every minute of it. Messmer put on musicals every year and I was in all of those. "Carousel," "South Pacific," "Bye Bye Birdie" … I played Gloria Rasputin in that. Senior year we did "Hello Dolly" and it was a fantastic production. I did stage crew and makeup, too!

MHS: Who were your favorite teachers?

CS: Janice Stauske was our music teacher, and she was outstanding. To this day Janice is proud of me and my achievements, and we remain very close. Charles Scheer was the drama teacher and he did a great job with our plays. Sister Noraleen taught English, and she was a great writing instructor. I still hear her in my brain when I’m writing something. The nuns set high standards for us.

MHS: What were your favorite Messmer moments?

CS: Oh, I had some good, good friends, and we did everything together. Lynn Obermeier, Karen Kleismet, Jodi Johnston … we were like a little clique and we had so much fun together. We’ve stayed close friends since high school. When "Song Sung Blue" premiered at the Oriental, they and a bunch of other Messmer friends were there to help celebrate.  

If there is one single moment I remember, it was singing the theme from "Mahogany" at graduation. (Sings) "Do you know where you’re going to? Do you like the things life is showing you?" Those were perfect lyrics. I was so glad to be able to sing them for my friends and classmates.  

"Song Sung Blue" is available on various streaming services. Claire recommends it!