网红头条

KENNESAW, Ga. | Sep 13, 2022

Concert staging of musical includes numerous song favorites in 11 vignettes

网红头条鈥檚 Department of Theatre and Performance Studies (TPS) will present September 14-18 at the Stillwell Theater. 鈥淐辞尘辫补苍测鈥� takes us on Bobby鈥檚 journey as the couples around him ponder his singlehood and encourage him to find a mate. The concert staging of this musical, written by George Furth, features many of Stephen Sondheim鈥檚 beloved songs, including 鈥淏eing Alive,鈥� 鈥淢arry Me a Little,鈥� and 鈥淪ide by Side by Side.鈥� 

KSU TPS faculty member , director, and Holt McCarley, guest music director and part-time faculty member, explain that even though 鈥淐辞尘辫补苍测鈥� was first produced in 1970, it remains relevant today. 鈥淪ondheim paints a beautiful picture of what it means to be human. This production is just as timeless now as it was back in the 1970s. It鈥檚 an interplay between personal鈥攁nd less intimate鈥攃onnections and friendship; it鈥檚 a struggle and a rite of passage for everyone,鈥� McCarley says. 

Ellis agrees, adding that 鈥淐辞尘辫补苍测鈥� brings 鈥渢he story to today, because in the 1970鈥檚, and even in 1982, when our production is set, there is still the idea that American women and men of a certain age should probably be married and having kids by now. For our students, it鈥檚 a bit of a look into the past and the different attention to being comfortable with human norms. Getting married right after graduation is not the norm anymore! Our students want time to establish themselves.鈥�

Based on 11 one-act plays, 鈥淐辞尘辫补苍测鈥� uses music to connect the vignettes, showing how the characters affect Bobby鈥檚 life. 鈥淲e learn a lot about Bobby, what he鈥檚 looking for鈥�but at the end of the show, it ends where it began. It鈥檚 the same people, the same place, and he鈥檚 still single. It鈥檚 told in a hopeful way that gives him hope for the future, but it doesn鈥檛 give you answers the way that musicals sometimes do,鈥� explains McCarley. 

Theatre major and senior Connor Maguire plays Bobby, and they acknowledge that their generation is seeking answers. 鈥淎 lot of us, especially my generation, feel so lost about how to connect with other people, of how to be in a relationship. That鈥檚 the central issue of 鈥楥ompany,鈥欌�� they explain. Maguire immediately could relate to Bobby and 鈥渂rought a lot of my own experience and relationships鈥� to the character, noting that 鈥測our own struggles are what makes a performance.鈥� 

Ellis has performed the song 鈥淏eing Alive鈥� numerous times and says that the show 鈥渞esonates with me, being still single, so some of the words from the friends reverberate with me, for me. Ultimately, it鈥檚 not all about, 鈥榳hen are you getting married?鈥� But it鈥檚 about how our interactions of those close to us affect our decisions or they don鈥檛.鈥�  Maguire adds, 鈥淎t the end, the conflict of Bobby鈥檚 love life is not resolved, but he鈥檚 broken ground on a new revelation for himself.鈥� 

Jenna Livingston, a junior, is the assistant director and understudy/swing, while also juggling her double major in Theatre and Performance Studies with a concentration in musical theatre, a major in History Education, and a dance minor. She notes that 鈥淐辞尘辫补苍测鈥� explores 鈥渁 variety of different types of relationships between the couples AND Bobby with the couples. The show reminds us that everyone has their own relationship with everyone else and to cherish it as much as possible in the time that you have.鈥� 

Maguire says that Sondheim, who passed away this year, was the main reason that they do musical theatre. 鈥淭his past year has been rather difficult for me, as my own hero, Stephen Sondheim, died. Playing this role, in this seminal musical, is such a momentous honor. I am so glad I get to be closer to someone who is the main reason that I do musical theater. He was a giant and I hope I do it justice for him.鈥� 

In-person tickets for 鈥淐辞尘辫补苍测鈥� are available at Learn more about the Department of Theatre and Performance Studies at arts.kennesaw.edu/theatre. 

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--Kathie Beckett