The School of Music & Performing Arts (SMPA) hosted the Revue on Friday at 7:00 p.m. and Saturday at 2:00 p.m. respectively. The Revue is a combination of both past SMPA performances and new pieces that the students have been working on across all aspects of the program: including but not limited to dance, music and theatre. This was the first time that the revue had happened, and it was evident that a lot of work went into it and it was split into two acts with a short intermission.
Act 1
When the revue began, the audience saw the band, conducted by student conductors, Austin Sigler and Lillie Poag. The first performance to take place was “A Musical” from Something Rotten, which a small group of students were included in to get everyone excited about what was to come.
Musical numbers were not the only things included in these elaborate night of fun. Ozzy Tharp and Ben Thompson acted out a scene from Almost Maine by John Cariani. It was a scene of two people exploring love, loss and uncertainty.
Ozzy Tharp said this about the show and her performance.
“I really liked doing the song with Ben (Thompson) that we did in Edges because Mike Meadows, the accompanist, saw the potential in us and it’s nice seeing the landmark of who we were and who we are now. The revue is special because you get to see all parts of the musical theatre program come together into one show, and it’s really special.”
The performances just got better because then the dancers came out and danced gracefully to “You Can’t Hurry Love,” from renowned singer and writer Phil Collins.
“Rhapsody Infused” was a piece by George Girshwin when dancers like Ella English, Lydia Shannon, Meredith Maidlow, and Hallie Henke got to dance in their respective styles of dance like tap or ballet. It was similar to a cat-and-mouse where they were all in their different outfits, colors and all and got to dance with one another, so it was entertaining to see the parallel of the types of dancers that we have on this campus.
By far, the most interesting piece to the audience was when they took “Earth Song” from Michael Jackson with starting vocals from Sophia Herbon into an ensemble piece that was impeccable. Through the staging and the various different harmonies, it was music to the audience’s ears.
They also had some familiar pieces from past performances like “I’ll Know” from Guys and Dolls, sung by Sophia Herbon as well. She was not just captivating, but ethereal in her motions and the way that she spoke to the audience.
Act 2
After intermission was act 2 and the audience got to hear some slower ballads like “At the Ballet,” from A Chorus Line, sung by Selita Jimenez, Ella English, and Gracelynn Barrett, and “A Soft Place to Land” from Waitress the Musical.
There were a few play scenes from John Proctor is the Villain, with Emma Copes and Mia Crockett, where you could understand the emotion and see the characters come to life. It was a magical experience to be able to see the energy of the two bounce off of each other.
“I loved the show. The musical numbers. I loved getting to hear the Earth Song because I just love when they hit us with the wall of sounds. I love when they hit us with human harmony,” said Sabine Winterowd, an audience member, when asked about how she felt about her favorite performance.
As for the finale, it was unlike anything that has been done at Anderson University. The amount of energy from everyone in the show and in the crowd was truly electric. Everyone was dressed in red outfits and sang the song “I Got Rhythm,” from Crazy for You. There were flowers, aluminum pans being played as instruments and brooms and Lizzie Swaile using glass bottles as her instrument. The audience even got a tap number on an aluminum floor as the dancers danced with their pans. This got everyone excited as they were cheering during the performance. It was hard to look away because of the amount of movement that was going on onstage. From facial expressions to the costumes, everything was done beautifully and it was a wonderful experience.