Broadway Lives

AS SOMEONE who has never spent an evening under the footlights (it can get very dark under the stage) I came to the Mather House dining hall after dinner on Wednesday out of sheer curiosity. Would the production feature midgets? Dachsunds? My questions were answered right away as I walked in, and was confronted by a bevy of real, live, normal-sized troupers who charmed their way into my heart with some hefty renditions of some hefty Broadway show-stoppers. The show stopped each time a song ended, as the ten talented cast members re-positioned themselves on the stage for the next number. Speaking of numbers, there were 30 numbers lifted in the program, a very few of which were left out. They came from shows like A Chorus Line, Godspell, Pippin, Finian's Rainbow, and Fiddler on the Roof. The music was good: Broadway showtunes that would have made Lawrence Welk. The dancing was good; a guy did a somersault and knocked over the only flat on the stage. The singing was good; the show's high point definitely came when the cast, clad as a group of marauding "hippies," ventured, dancing, into the audience, singing a song ("Let the Sunshine In") from Hair. All week long in Mather House, you couldn't sit by the windows because the show had taken up the space in front of them to use as wings; the back of the dining room was cluttered with lighting stands. The producer informed me that the show was originally supposed to be performed outside, like Two Gentlemen of Verona last year, but problems galore arose. The show could still be done outside but will probably remain in the dining hall throughout the weekend. Commencement will be held outside, like Two Gentlemen of Verona last year. Guess who provided the initial financial backing for this show and then backed out? You guessed it. Bill Dillon and Co., and that's the truth. And you think you've got problems. The lighting was superb; through the cracks in the windows you could see all the way to the Business School. A good time was had by all.