Tag: Department of Musical Theater

REVIEW: Bat Boy The Musical

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Saturday, Oct 12 | 2:00pm | The Encore Musical Theater Company

 

 

Never did I think that a piece of theater would have me rooting for a quasi-human incestual couple through the medium of song and dance. But leave it to writers Keythe Farley, Brian Flemming, and Laurence O’Keefe to make that nightmare a reality.

Just in time for Halloween, The Department of Musical Theater brings Bat Boy  to Michigan: a riotous farce that keeps you strapped in and spooked until the end. The department’s recent collaboration with The Encore Musical Theater Company brings one departmental show to Dexter, Michigan each academic year.

Bat Boy  opens with a group of unruly teens caving in rural Virginia. They stumble upon a strange half-bat, half-boy creature and trap him, but the town’s sheriff intervenes and brings him to the home of local veterinarian Dr. Parker and his family. Thanks to the help of Dr. Parker’s wife, Meredith, and daughter, Shelley, Bat Boy starts assimilating to human life and is renamed Edgar by Meredith. Mr. Parker becomes concerned with Edgar’s affection for Meredith and Shelley, while the secret of Edgar’s origin looms over the town.

Aaron Syi and Stephanie Reuning-Scherer.

This show is wildly campy, and just when you think its madness has peaked, it instantly finds a way to outdo itself. The mere writing of this show (book by Keythe Farley and Brian Flemming) is an exceptional parody piece and remains true to its musical theater roots. It’s successful as a show for super-fans of musical theater (recognizing clever nods from the book) as well as folks who just enjoy a well-crafted comedy. The score contains classic O’Keefe-isms, reminiscent of his arguably most famous score Heathers: The Musical (Which was produced by U-M’s MUSKET last year). O’Keefe sure loves to rock out in the rhythm section, and finish a big number with ‘screlting’ soprano (speaking of the amusing Stephanie Reuning-Scherer as Shelley).

The titular role of Bat Boy (Aaron Syi) is quite intense, physically and emotionally. He swings upside down, has multiple dance features, and has a unique un-humanistic physicality that Syi nailed. The vocal range abided by the same standards, an impressive feat for any young actor to nail.

Director Vince Cardinal brought expert scene work to the stage, producing a fantastic family dynamic—ultimately the foundation for the success of the story. The collegiate actors who make up the Parker family fully suspended my disbelief and led me right into a campy comic book world—like the very tabloid this story originated from. The design and production crews were similarly clearly devoted to that specific aesthetic with large stalagmites lining the stage and solid color outfits on the characters. This production embraced its identity, letting its brilliantly crafted story shine.

Skip the haunted house this year, Bat Boy is everything you need for an absolutely thrilling October evening.

 

 

 

Photos thanks to @theencoretheater on Instagram.

Bat Boy runs at The Encore Musical Theater Company from October 10-20.

REVIEW: A Little Night Music

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[Title photo: Cole Newburg (left) and Audrey Graves.]

Of all the entangled romantic comedies in musical theater, A Little Night Music is quite the knot. The Department of Musical Theater completes its 2023-2024 season with Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler’s musical-operetta surrounding a horny mess of bourgeoisie adults at the turn of the century in Sweden. But it gets better—accompanied is a full orchestra with the most waltz-worthy melodies that string you right along with this troupe’s ridiculous antics.

The plot is quite dense. Desirée Armfeldt (Carly Meyer) is a fading actress touring small theaters across the country. She has a young daughter, Fredrika (Mariangeli Collado), who lives with her grandmother, Madam Armfeldt (Kate Louissaint), in the country. Desirée continuously delays seeing her daughter, preferring her life on tour in the theater. On the other side of town, Fredrik (Cole Newburg) and Anne Egerman (Audrey Graves), the newly married couple (with a quite significant age gap) live with Henrik (Michael Fabisch), the teenage son of Fredrik. He is a seminary student, frustrated and often ignored and mocked by the family with contentious feelings for his stepmother, Anne. One evening, Anne and Fredrick go to the theater, where Anne learns of Fredrik’s romantic history with the leading actress, Desirée. The two share an evening together, until interrupted by Desirée’s current affair, Count Carl-Magnus Malcolm (Owen Scales). Thus begins a spiral of jealousy and scandal when Desirée invites both couples Count Malcolm and Countess Charlotte (Gabriella Palminteri) and Anne, Fredrik, and Henrik to her mother’s home in the country.

This production was directed by Telly Leung, a graduate of the University of Michigan Musical Theater Department and an active Broadway performer. Direction choices were thorough and aesthetic for a venue that can leave you uninspired. However, the choice of an electric lime-green floor often took me away from the glamour of these characters’ lives and exceptional music and performances. This was in part recovered by a spectacular costume design right out of an Edwardian-type 1900s Sweden.



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The orchestration of the show is near perfect. A full orchestra accompanied the performance tonight at the Power Center, one of the finest pit orchestras I have heard at this University to date (musical direction by the fabulous Catherine A. Walker). A glimmering orchestra underneath some of the most brilliant voices at the University was a perfect end to the semester.  With leading women Carly Meyer and Audrey Graves, there was not a single pedestrian vocal moment. Their attention to virtuosic vocalism while navigating Sondheim’s cheeky text was a thrill. Angeleia Ordoñez (Petra) brilliantly performed one of my favorite tunes of all time, “The Miller’s Son”. It’s a satisfyingly audacious song from the promiscuous maid, Petra, and a 4-minute three-part opera in performance, displaying Petra’s keenness to the lives of the bourgeoisie around her. A groundbreaking 11-o’clock number, Ordoñez nailed it. The expansion of The Quintet (a decet for this production), enriched the musical score at whole, perhaps an ironic reflection of the three couples’ extravagant lifestyles. My favorite performance of this evening had to be Fabisch, accessing spot-on character physicality and honest comedy for the crowd-favorite Henrik. Not to mention his spectacular vocals shining through Sondheim’s tricky tuplet score.”

“A weekend in the country” with this outstanding cast would be my pleasure, anytime at all.

[Mariangeli Collado (left), Carly Meyer, and Kate Louissaint]

 

April 19th, 2024, 8pm. Power Center for the Performing Arts. Images thanks to The University of Michigan Department of Musical Theater.

REVIEW: Color Cabaret

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Biennially, the students of the SMTD Department of Musical Theater put together a cabaret to uplift the diversity within their department. Color Cabaret features BIPOC performers from all four years of the department performing many Broadway Classics and music from the Musical Theater canon. The group hosted two shows on February 22nd at 7p and 11p; around 60 minutes and II Acts. The Towsley Studio in the Walgreen Drama Center was packed to the brim with some of the most eager family members, students, and colleagues I have seen at a student production.

 

The directors of this performance were Oluchi Nwaokorie and Haoyi Wen, along with music director Caleb Middleton and choreographers Abigail Aziz, Keyon Pickett, and Logan Saad. The show consisted of a collection of Musical Theater numbers, fully choreographed dances, lighting, and orchestrated with a five-piece band. The performers hosted infectious energy that bled through the room—vibrant dance numbers, satisfying harmonies, and one-of-a-kind arrangements.

 

Many of their numbers used Broadway tunes with rewritten lyrics by the performers describing the experience of People of Color and the stereotypes placed upon them. Arrangements, lyrics, and poems were re-written by many of the members of the Cabaret, including Alyssa Sunew, Ryo Kamibayashi, Brendan Johnson, Drew Perez Harris, Aaron Syi, Angeleia Ordoñez, Anna Zavelson, Aidan Jones. (Along with two additional arrangments by Stephanie Reuning-Scherer and Catherine Walker/Henry Crater).

Every single aspect of this performance was led and created by Students of Color. Directing, marketing, arrangements, lyric re-writes, choreography, lights, band and music direction (etc.). Each number was truly unique—from Part of You World performed in different languages, to a witty Book of Mormon rewrite and medleys from Once On This Island, Falsettos, High School Musical & Rogers & Hammerstein’s music, I was on the edge of my seat after each performance. This group truly created a beautiful piece of theater on a rather bleak February night.

Color Cabaret is an enormously special part of SMTD and a thrilling way to amplify BIPOC voices in the Musical Theater Department. Be sure to catch Color Cabaret in 2026 (if you’re still here!). Next, The Department of Musical Theater will perform A Little Night Music  April 18-21, 2024. Tickets are available here.

REVIEW: The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

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It was my pleasure to see the preview of the Michigan Musical Theater Department’s second show this season, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. This show is an absolute riot and an effortlessly entertaining experience, making it a superior addition to the Dexter community’s cultural offerings. This marks one of the first, if not the inaugural performance with SMTD and the Encore Theater. As one of Southeast Michigan’s premiere theater companies, it Is thrilling to see this collaboration with such talented students from our university.  

Spelling Bee has achieved notable success as a standalone show. Its 2005 Off-Broadway production secured three Drama Desk Awards for Best Book, Director, and Ensemble Performance. The original Broadway cast garnered three Drama Desk Nominations and Six Tony Nominations, resulting in two Tony wins for Best Book (Rachel Sheinkin) and Featured Actor (Dan Fogler). Rachel Sheinkin’s book is marked by effortless wit, and the narrative unfolds with impeccable pacing. It seamlessly transitions between tender, grounded moments and a campy atmosphere that almost feels too whimsical to be true. Just when you anticipate a lull in the story, the writing takes an unexpected turn that keeps you on the edge of your seat. William Finn, known for his compositions in Falsettos and A New Brain (both of which received Tony and Drama Desk Award nominations and national recognition), brings his musical expertise to Spelling Bee. His music is nuanced and brings a campy yet touching score while catering to the modern listener’s sensibilities. Sheinkin and Finn make a formidable creative team, delivering a distinctive theatrical experience through their work on Spelling Bee.

One of the show’s standout aspects is the interactive audience experience, which is a pleasantly abrupt surprise that contributes to the cast’s infectious energy. The moderator, Miss Rona Lisa Peretti, will call out random contestants from the audience to participate in the Bee! If you are a uniquely gifted speller… this is your chance! 

This production features fantastic stage direction by Vince Cardinal and music direction by Tyler Driscoll, accompanied by a fantastically organized and attentive pit. The musicians performed on stage with a creatively spaced pit behind the stage. The design of this show was equally fantastic, with some unexpected hidden surprises sprinkled inside the set. The thrust-style stage gives each seat a unique theatrical experience.  

It’s always a delight to witness the musical theater students’ performances throughout the year. One impressive aspect of this particular show that stood out to me was the physicality among the vast range of ages. Each of the “competing spellers” seemed to embody the natural posture and mannerisms of anxious preteens awaiting their turn to compete. The adults all held a noticeable poise to set them apart. The costuming equally complemented the playful and innocent essence of the kids and youthfully spirited adults. These college students truly transformed into their characters out of the many young adults I know at SMTD.

Needless to say, the Spelling Bee rekindled the excitement of my inner child, and I anticipate that it will be a successful and thrilling run for the U-M Musical Theater students and Dexter Theater. The show will kick off its run tonight, October 19th, at 7:30 pm, and will continue with a ten-show schedule until October 23rd, culminating with a matinee at 2 pm. I strongly encourage anyone contemplating attending to find a kind friend with a car or splurge on the Uber to Dexter and experience this fantastic show; it’s unquestionably worth the brief journey from Ann Arbor.

 

Image thanks to The Encore Theater and University of Michigan SMTD.

REVIEW: Guys and Dolls

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8:00pm • Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023 • Lydia Mendelssohn Theater

This Saturday’s performance of Guys and Dolls was one of the best musicals I have seen on campus. SMTD’s production staff, crew, and performers breathed life into the classic “Broadway fable” through their thoughtful and critical treatment of the 70-year-old subject matter, while remaining true to the musical’s original humor and optimism. 

First and foremost, the cast’s performance was exceptional. The actors embodied their characters with charisma and authenticity, making them relatable despite some of the more dated stereotypes. Their command over dialects transported us to the streets of New York, and their chemistry on stage gave the story’s romances real gravity that completely absorbed my attention. In particular, I was blown away by Alex Humphreys’ soprano (just like I was in last semester’s production of Rent!) in “I’ll Know” and literally all of her songs afterwards. 

I loved how the set and costume design expertly combined to craft a convincing world onstage, without visually overwhelming the talent of the actors. When the curtain rose at the beginning of the performance for “Runyonland,” the sparsity of the stage put the spotlight on the orchestra for a few well-deserved moments. An unexpected sense of excitement and anticipation overtook me as the curtain lifted a second time, revealing the blinking neon signs of Broadway and immersing me in the production’s vibrant atmosphere. 

Despite Guys and Dolls being a product of its time, based on the archetypes developed in Damon Runyon’s 1920s and ’30s stories about the New York underworld and Broadway, SMTD managed to navigate this delicate terrain with finesse. The show’s dramaturgs thoughtfully interpreted some of the more outdated themes in the show, making it relevant and engaging for a modern audience. I especially appreciated the incorporation of informational placards in the hallway, shedding light on the broader social context of the era. These additions offered audiences a deeper understanding of historical context like the LGBTQ+ scene in 1950s New York and the nascent Civil Rights Movement, adding layers of depth to the narrative we saw in the play.

In conclusion, SMTD’s Guys and Dolls was a resounding success on all fronts. The students’ dedication and talent elevated every aspect of the production, from the outstanding musical performances to the impeccable set and costume design. I was impressed by the production’s ability to breathe new life into a classic while addressing its historical context with sensitivity. 

If you haven’t yet seen Guys and Dolls, you still have the opportunity to buy tickets for this Thursday, Friday, or Saturday’s performances, and I urge you to do so! You might see me there as well!

PREVIEW: DOGFIGHT

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Although I’m typically not a fan of musicals, there’s something intriguing about DOGFIGHT. The admission is free, which already provides a decent incentive for college students lacking funds, but the premise of the musical is particularly interesting, and watching talented UMich students pour their hearts into a performance is guaranteed to be an awe-inspiring experience.

Based on a film, DOGFIGHT takes place in the 60s and follows the story of marines preparing to be sent across the sea. They celebrate their last night of freedom by placing bets on who can find the ugliest girl to bring to a party. Questionable and immoral, I know, but the plot focuses on one couple and has a romantic twist that brings out the soft side in us enemies-to-lovers trope enjoyers. The play examines old-fashioned beliefs, war, vulnerability, and how traumatic events can change our perspective on the world and ourselves.

The performance will be held at the Arthur Miller Theatre, a small and intimate venue. I’ve never attended an event at the venue, but I’m interested in how the small space will transform the experience. Witnessing the talent of fellow students with this degree of closeness is bound to be spark pride in my status as a Wolverine and elevate the emotionality of the performance exponentially.

Once again— tickets are free! Tomorrow is the third and final show, so show up early to support the performers of UMich and be part of a wild ride.