Western Carolina University’s musical theatre program presented their rendition of the Broadway musical “Music Is” the weekend of Feb. 3.
The book with the same name was written by George Abbott and was based off of Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night.” Catherine Cox, an original cast member, directed the musical and the musical director was Bradley Martin.
The musical had two pretty basic story lines. A girl, Olivia, is mourning the loss of her brother and refusing to fall in love for seven years. All of the male characters are in love with her. At the same time there is a ship wreck and Viola makes it safely to shore. She then poses as a man and Olivia falls for her. But that’s all okay, Viola has a twin brother and the story unfolds. In the end, everyone ends up happily in love.
But none of that is what made the story memorable. The side stage humor was what kept the audience’s attention. There were references to Lady Gaga, Pokemon, as well as LMFAO’s most recent hit “I’m Sexy and I know it.” The show even demonstrated some school spirit with a few cast members dressed up as Pride of the Mountains marching band members and one cast member wearing the Catamount head. There was even an exorcism scene where cast members were yelling out spells from “Harry Potter.”
Freshmen Robin Paulick enjoyed the show saying, “The side stage entertainment was my favorite part. It was funny to see characters texting and messing on laptops.”
Most audience members left the show laughing and clearly having enjoyed the show. Even though the musical was well received from the audience, ticket sales were not so great.
According to Paul Lormand, director of the John W. Bardo Fine and Performing Arts Center, only 584 of the nearly 2,000 tickets available were sold.
Many students didn’t attend the show because of advertising reasons.
“I didn’t go because I didn’t really know what it was. Big name plays and musicals are what draw me in,” said Desirea Hodge, a sophomore. “There weren’t the normal advertisements, so I didn’t even hear about it until the last minute.”
Other students had similar complaints.
“I saw the posters about ‘Music Is,’ but I never know what it was. If there was a description about the musical I might have considered going,” said Jessica Tallent, a junior.
While the posters were large, colorful and clearly gave the title it just wasn’t enough.
“They just advertised the title and the times,” sophomore Sara Green said. “They should have told the plot.”
