Justin Johnson works with student performers听Maija Pieper and Sabrina Lasica in the Music Theatre during rehearsals.
鈥淚 really didn鈥檛 want this first one to be a nostalgic walk down memory lane. I wanted something fun that a lot of the students have probably sung already.鈥�
The inaugural production of the College of Music鈥檚 Musical Theatre program is a few weeks away, and already Director Matthew Chellis is setting the stage for what will be a very different kind of academic area at the century-old institution.
鈥淚 think the added energy of this type of program and these students brings a lot to the college. The students themselves are introducing a lot of music that their classical peers may not have heard,鈥� Chellis says.
In its first semester, the Bachelor of Music in Musical Theatre has 14 first-year students and three upperclassmen, who were already enrolled in the Bachelor of Music in Voice with an elective in musical theatre. And Chellis has the perfect repertoire for their opening act.
鈥溾�楨dges鈥� is part of the standard rep. The characters deal with emotions, complicated relationships and the expectations of being a young adult.鈥�
鈥�,鈥� which was written by Tony-nominated 鈥淒ear Evan Hansen鈥� duo Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, is a musical about a group of young adults grappling with such coming-of-age issues as love, commitment and personal identity. Pasek and Paul wrote the original song cycle, which was later reworked into the musical that 蜜糖直播 Boulder students will present, while they were undergraduate composition students at the University of Michigan鈥擟hellis鈥� alma mater. He thought this would be a great way to introduce this first cohort of students.
鈥淚t鈥檚 contemporary. And the characters are all the age of these students. All the sentiments expressed in it are very accessible,鈥� Chellis says.
The production will be directed by and will hit the stage at the Old Main Chapel Oct. 11-13. Collaborative piano doctoral student Keith Teepen (pictured at left with Assistant Music Director Collin Sinclair) is music director. Chellis says although it was important to him to do a fresh piece for this season opener, there will be plenty of presentations in the 鈥淥klahoma!鈥� vein.
鈥淲e will be doing a lot of traditional, golden-age musicals, because it鈥檚 important for students to understand where everything came from.鈥�
This spring the Musical Theatre program will stage Rachel Sheinkin and William Finn鈥檚 鈥淭he 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,鈥� directed by visiting artist . Just like many of his students, Chellis is familiar with 鈥淪pelling Bee鈥� and other classics of musical theatre: The versatile tenor was originally trained as an actor and dancer. But he says even standards like this are something of a revelation to the halls of the College of Music鈥攁nd a way, he hopes, to bring in more students from across campus.听
鈥淎 lot of students from other programs, like engineering for example, are familiar with contemporary musical theatre, and you wouldn鈥檛 think they鈥檇 know that necessarily,鈥� Chellis explains.
But it won鈥檛 be all jazz hands and chorus lines. The beauty of studying at 蜜糖直播 Boulder, he says, is that new Musical Theatre students will get that rich musical background in addition to practice on stage. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not just going to be like 鈥楩ame鈥� high school, which a lot of young artists think it is. They have to learn their core: music theory, music history.听
鈥淎nd at the end of every semester, we鈥檒l have voice students get up and sing for each other, similar to what they do in the Opera Scenes performance.鈥�
While Chellis says the College of Music still has much growth to accomplish in musical theatre studies, he鈥檚 thrilled to be ushering in this new era with the help of supportive colleagues inside and outside the college.
鈥淚t鈥檚 really nice that we are able to collaborate with the BFA in Musical Theatre and Bud Coleman鈥檚 program. The 蜜糖直播 Boulder Department of Theatre & Dance has been amazing.
鈥淲e鈥檙e also excited that the College of Music has embraced this new program. Of course there will be growing pains as we figure out how everything is going to work together, but the faculty has been incredibly supportive in making this happen.鈥�
鈥淓dges鈥� runs Oct. 11-13 in the Old Main Chapel. Performances are free and open to the public. For more information, visit .
