MTC presents “Broadway Around The World”
Griffin Baltz
Contributing Writer
The UMBC Musical Theatre Club took to the sports zone over the weekend for their ninth annual showcase, bringing together over forty students for a two-hour event of music and dance.
Last weekend, the Sports Zone was filled with the sounds of music and applause as the Musical Theatre Club presented their ninth annual showcase. Entitled “Broadway Around The World,” this year’s showcase consisted of musical numbers taking place in locales throughout the globe, such as northern Uganda and Germany.
Musicals featured in the show included Aladdin, Cabaret, Les Miserables and The Book of Mormon.
The showcase is unique in that anyone and everyone who auditions is included in the show to some degree, even non-theatre majors. The Musical Theatre Club sets out to be inclusive in their membership, encouraging students who would not typically be involved in theatre productions to take part.
“Things were a little awkward in the beginning since I didn’t know anyone,” said senior information systems major Eddy Cha. “But once I got to know everyone and warmed up it was a great experience.”
Cha performed alongside sophomore vocal performance major Kristen Lair in a rendition of “Falling Slowly” from the Irish musical Once. Cha and Lair used live instruments for their performance, playing guitar and piano respectively.
The types of numbers included in the showcase varied from somber solos like “Empty Chairs and Empty Tables” from Les Miserables, as well as energetic group numbers like “I’ll Make A Man Out Of You” from Mulan.
A tap dance number was even included in the show in the form of “Anything Goes,” incorporating extensive singing and dancing, which gained thunderous applause from the crowd.
Between the proper musical numbers, hosts and emcees Sim Rivers and Scott Seiss performed parodies of numbers from Sweeney Todd and The Lion King.
Many performers and directors alike enjoyed their time working on the showcase, which began with auditions in early September.
“I loved being involved with so many different kinds of numbers in the show,” said Ali Mark, a sophomore mechanical engineering major and theatre minor. “Between the dancing-heavy and vocal-heavy numbers, there was a great amount of variation.”
Each member of the cast and crew had their own reasons for enjoying their time in the show, from the choreography to the technical aspects like lighting.
“Personally, the love and attention we got from the crowd was great,” said Nell Quinn-Gibney, a sophomore BFA in Acting who performed in several numbers including “Don’t Tell Mama” from Cabaret.
Mark and Quinn-Gibney also collaborated on the directing of the show’s full-cast final number, “Raise You Up” from Kinky Boots.
The showcase sold out of tickets on all three nights of the event over the weekend, packing the Sports Zone with family and friends.
With the conclusion of “Broadway around the World,” the Musical Theatre Club will move forward with their production of the musical Urinetown which will be performed next semester.
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