To receive an award is one thing, but to inspire one is something else altogether.

Edgewood Highland Principal Marlene Gamba did just that on Thursday, which also happened to be the last day of school and the date of the school’s talent show.

The theme was “Salute to Broadway” and who better to kick off the festivities than Gamba herself, with some help from her staff. Dance and theater are both in her background from her time at Bain all the way through college at Emerson, and it showed.

Gamba donned makeup and a costume to play the scarecrow as she led the crowd in a rendition, which she choreographed, of “Ease on Down the Road” from The Wiz. After her performance she received the FusionWorks Beyond the Edge Award, presented by her daughter Melody, which “honors an individual who demonstrates an unwavering commitment and belief in the transformative power of dance” according to the company’s release.

Gamba has been an advocate for FusionWorks since 2002, and her dedication didn’t go unnoticed by the city. Mayor Allan Fung was present to surprise her with a citation.

“I’m very proud to be here once again at this wonderful school standing next to this wonderful woman,” Fung said. “What she’s doing today, what all the teachers are doing show the passion that she has to make sure that, as you’re learning you’re enriching yourselves in so many different areas and having fun doing it.”

She was surprised to see all the members of central administration, including Superintendent Jeannine Nota-Masse, in attendance for the show. The production featured Broadway numbers from each grade, ranging from The Lion King to Grease.

The end-of-the-year talent show, according to Gamba, is a fun way to break the monotony of the finals days of school. It gives the students some incentive to work hard as summer vacation approaches.

“I feel all I learned there [at Emerson] is coming to fruition now, I’m kind of like a director,” Gamba, the principal at Edgewood Highland for 16 years, said. “I get a little humbled because when I get the attention I get nervous about it. I was really touched by that. All of central administration came, I was really touched by that.”

She said she already has the theme of next year’s show, “Let Me Fly,” which is inspired by a new Mike and the Mechanics song of the same name.

“They will have a little more freedom,” Gamba said, with a smile.