(Photographed by Volunteer Write Emma Bowser)
Volunteer Writer: Emma Bowser
Email: ebowser@umassd.edu
The UMass Dartmouth Theatre Company hosted its 16th Annual Broadway Revue, with the theme being “good versus evil.”
The revue featured hero and villain songs from various popular Broadway musicals chosen by director Becca Silvia and Joseph Marques, the stage manager & choreographer.
Tickets for students cost $5.00, seniors, faculty, and alums cost $10.00, and tickets for the general public cost $15.00. Unfortunately, due to unforeseen circumstances, the showing for Sunday the 5th was canceled.
Strobe lights were used during two performances at the end of the second act. This was announced before the beginning of the first act and was also noted in the playbill, specifying which musical numbers would include strobe lights.
The first act went smoothly; however, technical difficulties were experienced during the intermission, and there was minor interference during the second act, primarily affecting the sound system.
Despite these difficulties, the students behind the curtains and on stage were calm and took it all in stride. The issues with the sound system were hardly noticeable due to their ability to work under pressure.
The first act began with “Road to Hell” from Hadestown, featuring Joshua Bernadin as the main singer. This musical number had many actors on stage simultaneously playing the parts of different characters from Greek mythology, such as Hermes and the infamous lovers Orpheus and Eurydice.
Katrina Vera sang “Once Upon a December,” an iconic song from the 1997 movie Anastasia. It was a solo performance, and the stuffed bear that Vera used as a prop was sold during an auction in intermission for a large sum of money to help support the Theatre Company.
“Popular” from Wicked featured Abby Sullivan as the main singer. The handheld mirror used as a prop in this musical number was also sold during the auction at intermission, although for less money than the stuffed bear.
Trevie Lopes and Sara Cravo played the parts of Bonnie and Clyde from the aptly named musical Bonnie and Clyde. Their song, “This World Will Remember Us, ” primarily focused on Bonnie’s desire for Hollywood fame as an actress.
“Blood in the Water” was another musical number with many actors involved as background singers and dancers. This song is from Legally Blonde and is about the scene when Elle Woods is kicked out of the classroom at Harvard Law School because she didn’t do the assigned reading. The featured actors were Abby Sullivan, Patric DeCastro, Merry Peterson, and Katrina Viera.
Ally Norbert performed the song “I’d Rather Be Me” from the musical adaptation of Mean Girls, a 2004 movie. The musical came out in 2017, and this particular song is a declaration of identity by the story’s heroine.
“Epiphany” from Sweeney Todd is a villain’s song performed by Andrew Curtis and Katrina Viera. Curtis played the part of Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street.
Julia D’addozio sang “Part of Your World” from Disney’s The Little Mermaid, taking up the mantle of Ariel. The live-action version of the original movie was released this year in May, making this musical number somewhat relevant to the acting world.
“No Good Deed,” a villain song from Wicked, was performed as a solo by Sara Cravo. This song is the turning point for Elphaba, in which she decides she won’t let any “good deed go unpunished.”
Beauty and the Beast is another Disney movie featured in the revue. Kaci Anderson, playing Belle, sang “Home” from the musical adaptation.
All actors participated in a performance of “Once and For All” from the musical Newsies, which was about the importance of the people working the less respected jobs in the local town and how society wouldn’t be able to function without blue-collar workers.
The second act opened with “Positive,” another song from Legally Blonde. Merry Peterson, Isabella Brown, Kianna Wilson, and Averi Lima were the main actors in this musical number and were accompanied by the featured dancers.
Patric DeCastro sang “Les Poissons,” the second song from The Little Mermaid to be featured in the revue, and a second actor played the part of Sebastian the crab.
“Who I’d Be” from Shrek the Musical was performed by Joshua Bernadin with accompaniment from Katrina Viera and Peyton Amaral, who acted as his backup singers and dancers.
Hairspray’s “(The Legend of) Miss Baltimore Crabs” involved several actors, including Bridget O’Meara, Abby Sullivan, Kaci Anderson, Tyler Gula, Kaylah Jackson-Brown, Joshua Bernadin, and some featured dancers.
“Suddenly Seymour” was a duet performed by Andrew Curtis and Sara Cravo. This song comes from the horror musical Little Shop of Horrors, which was released as a movie in 1986.
Syaer Webb performed “Be Prepared” from the musical adaptation of Disney’s The Lion King and was accompanied by Abbie Ferree, Grace Russell, and Bridget O’Meara.
Trevie Lopes performed solo as Henry Jekyll and Edward Hyde in “Transformation” from Jekyll & Hyde. This musical adapts the infamous story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde for the theater’s stage.
Peyton Amaral and Trevie Lopes took up the parts of Joanne and Mark from Rent in the song “Tango: Maureen,” about Joanne’s relationship with her girlfriend Maureen. The musical takes place in New York during the HIV/AIDS crisis.
“And Eve Was Weak” is a song from Carrie, a musical adapted from Stephen King’s horror novel of the same title. Bridget O’Meara and Ally Norbut performed this musical number as a duet, one of the two performances involving strobe lights.
Mean Girls was honored to have a second song featured in the revue. “World Burn” is a revenge song about the villainess Regina George, who Kianna Wilson played. There were also featured dancers acting in this musical number.
The second song to involve strobe lights was “The Ballad of Sweeney Todd (Finale)” from Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. All the actors in the company participated in this number.
After the performance, items from the auction were distributed to buyers, and actors were available to mingle with the audience to discuss the performances and accept bouquets of flowers.
The revue was very successful, with many people attending and loud applause at the end of each song. Anticipation and excitement for next year’s revue are high, given the favorable reception of this year’s revue, and the UMass Dartmouth Theatre continues to be a favorite among students and the public.