In the web program of the 93rd annaul Waa-Mu present, Taken Away: A Musical Trilogy, director and choreographer Tommy Rapley explains the inspiration for this yr’s present. It reads, “This year’s Waa-Mu show features three unique stories that started with a united prompt: Heist.” The three tales take care of “themes of love, grief, power, desire, and community.”
On opening evening, April 26, music supervisor Ryan T. Nelson, a veteran of 22 earlier Waa-Mu reveals, spoke to the viewers briefly, explaining how Waa-Mu has advanced through the years and that the three-half design for storytelling was another step in that evolution. He referred to as it “Waa-Mu 3.0.”
The three distinct tales depend on the identical solid, similar primary set design, and similar orchestra, which is terrific. The orchestra is on stage on a raised platform for the complete present, which incorporates 22 songs and reprises.
The present begins when three Fates (Reagan Aleman, Kiki Sikora, Kailey Morand) pop up from the empty orchestra pit. They concurrently function emcees, narrators, comics and tour guides for the viewers. They hilariously break via the fourth wall and discuss to the viewers at first of every section and generally inside them.
Each of the three tales, Art of the Heist, Stolen Thunder and A Bird’s Song, offers with a heist of some type per Rapley’s authentic route. On a deeper stage, a serious character in every story makes a Faustian discount, sealed with a handshake, that they instantly come to remorse. The implications and aftereffects of those disastrous offers are sobering conclusions for every story.
Additionally, every story offers with loss of life: the various-months-prior loss of life of a younger grownup that opens the primary story, a vindictive and merciless loss of life within the second and a noble, sacrificial loss of life within the third. These tales take care of massive themes and concepts and are in all probability not appropriate for anybody in elementary or center faculty.
Nya Ku, Selina Liu, Samantha Miheve, Efren Ponce, Avery Powers, Emerson Steady, Evan Trotter-Wright and Rachel Weintraub wrote Art of the Heist. Part ghost story, it tells of grief, insanity and the transcendent powers of artwork and friendship. The 4 predominant characters (Nora James Eikner as Lily, Henry Jones as Vik, Anand Choudhary as Cedar and Lily Ramras as Steph) are glorious with good onstage chemistry.
Stolen Thunder is the second story; it reimagines an influence battle between Zeus and Athena. Its writers, composers and lyricists embody Sydney Astle, Sydney MacGilvray, Liam Jeninga, Michael Peterson, Eric Powers, Lily Ramras and Alec Rego. One of its main themes is the unbridled want for an influence so nice it might destroy the world. There isn’t any indication that this story is meant as a satire or touch upon any of the day’s political or present occasions, however the connection will not be so farfetched. Stolen Thunder is the story with probably the most suspenseful and ambiguous ending.
The third story is A Bird’s Song. The play was written by Sadie Fridley (composer and lyricist), and lyricists Max Outcalt, Mika Parisien and Daniel Calderon. This story is probably the most playful and imaginative of the three. The setting is a forest the place birds can discuss to people. The two leads, Kiki Sikora as Bird and Sadie Fridley as Jude, have stunning, dynamic and mesmerizing voices. The lyrics and the music of The Flying Sound and If You Listen are sufficient to interrupt your coronary heart and add further weight to the story’s arc.
Sikora and Fridley play a number of roles on this present. Sikora was one of many Fates within the first half. Fridley pitched the thought for A Bird’s Song, composed, wrote lyrics and acted as one of many leads. They are usually not atypical; many Northwestern college students who’re concerned in Waa-Mu serve in a number of roles, each on stage and behind the scenes.
I applaud Waa-Mu’s want and efforts to discover new methods of presenting tales on stage. Each yr it’s a Herculean effort to develop, write, choreograph, solid, costume and stage the present; to supply and write music and lyrics for songs to accompany the narrative; to satisfy all of the capabilities (lighting, sound, technical, design, stage) that make the present occur; and to finish the again workplace duties that could be, variously, tedious, limitless, boring, repetitive and completely important. More than 150 undergraduate college students work exhausting to make this present occur. With a lot expertise on stage, there’s something for everybody at Taken Away: A Musical Trilogy.
Taken Away: A Musical Trilogy runs this weekend May three via May 5 at Cahn Auditorium, 600 Emerson St. Tickets can be found online or on the Wirtz Center field workplace. The present is 100 minutes lengthy with one intermission.