Grace Cavanaugh ~ Staff Writer
On Friday, March 29th, and Saturday, March 30th ,2019 University of Lynchburg’s students will perform in the Curtain Call Cabaret at 7:30 p.m.
According to senior Parker Jones, “Curtain Call is a musical theater ensemble group where there is a group of students who are picked for their musical prowess. They sing showtunes, bits and pieces of musicals, songs from famous soundtracks, things like that. Just a kind of fun way for us to showcase some of our talent here in Lynchburg.”
Chris Young, a student in the show, said, “It is about 16 people and they perform specific pieces from musical shows.” Sophomore Travis Carr added, “Curtain Call is essentially an organization that is meant to give Theatre and Music students an opportunity to perform in Broadway style cabarets and Broadway style music.”
Sophomore Jenna Bohrer said, “Last year, we did La La Land and I sang from that and some things from Hamilton, Waitress. This year, we are working on some things from The Greatest Showman and some older musicals as well, like Spamalot.”
Carr expanded on Bohrer’s statement, saying, “We have Spamalot, Les Mis, that one is going to be really fun, and the The Greatest Showman also. […] One of them was performed earlier in the year, and that was ‘Coffee in a Cardboard Cup’.”
“I think that the music choices are really good and I think that they are relatable,” said Jones. “I think that the people that come to the show are really going to enjoy what we sing. I want somebody to come in and enjoy it.”
There will be a bit of a surprise at this Curtain Call. According to Carr, “There is a Broadway backwards piece and that is essentially girls singing songs specifically for guys and guys that is king of the template typically for girls. The songs that we are doing, the guys are doing “Cell Block Tango” from Chicago and the girls are doing “The World Will Know” from Newsies.”
There are a lot of opportunities in the Cabaret for students to sing. Carr said, “There are lots of solos, lots of opportunities for people to get a chance that would not maybe be [in] main stage musicals.”
For the show, Chris Young will have solos in “Brave Sir Robin” and “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life” from Spamalot. Travis Carr and Parker Jones will be singing a duet with “The Other Side” from The Greatest Showman. Jenna Bohrer and sophomore Elizabeth Martin will be singing a Sutton Foster duet called “Flight”. Bohrer will also be singing “A Million Dreams” from The Greatest Showman and Martin will be singing a duet with Matt Penalva from Reefer Madness called “Romeo and Juliet”.
About her duet with Penalva, Martin said, “[It] is like a comedic scene about two people who have never read Romeo and Juliet and think it is a really happy story.” Bohrer’s excited about her duet with Martin, saying, “It is beautiful and lovely and not like anything else that we are going in the show.”
“Curtain Call is a class that started last semester,” said Carr. Jones added, “It is not really a class. It is a way to practice our skills and have fun, give us an outlet, sing songs that we do not normally get to sing.”
Unlike the musicals and plays usually put on in Dillard Theater, the Curtain Call Cabaret will not be using large sets and many costume changes.
Young said, “For the guys Chicago, the “Cell Block Tango”, they have actually kind of like cell block kind of things that we can play around with. But other than that, we have not done too much of […] props or anything.”
Carr agreed, saying, “The lighting is going to be really, really cool. Alex [Gancedo] is doing a ton of really cool lighting things for the show. Like, Spamalot is going to be a lot colorful and Les Mis is very serious.”
Like with the Spring musical, Curtains, there will be live musicians. “We definitely have a pianist,” said Jones, “and then we have drums and I am not sure what other instruments we will have, but we have a guitarist…some other possible band instruments and maybe a violin.”
“Costumes are pretty simple,” said Bohrer, “like just your casual dress, except for our newsboys outfits.”
The show is free to students, according to Martin. “If you are not a student, you have to pay five dollars,” she said.
“Come support the arts,” encouraged Carr. Bohrer added, “Everyone should come and see it.”
For more information, please visit https://www.facebook.com/events/386467915525670/.