| Theater and Music Students Experience Broadway
Fifteen travelers had the opportunity to engage with the arts in the city during the January 20-27, New York City interterm trip. The group included McPherson College students, faculty and staff as well as several others from the community.
Students in Professors Steve Gustafson and Rick Tyler’s “Foundations of Musical Theatre” class visited Broadway for a first-hand experience of some of the best musical theatre available. Required to see at least four productions, a number of students made the most of the opportunity and attended nine or ten events.
The city was inundated with two feet of snow during the trip which worked out to the benefit of the students. “Cancellations started pouring in,” Tyler said. “The kids got to see any show they wanted.”
Tickets had been purchased in advance for “Turandot” by Puccini, and the play “Wicked,” about the relationship between the wicked witches of the west and north from the movie, “The Wizard of OZ,” while they were growing up together, before they ever met Dorothy.
The Tony Award winning show was the favorite of the students. “In terms of the group as a whole, I think “Wicked” was at the top of the list. It had high energy, great set design; the cast really sold the show to the audience,” Gustafson said.
“Little Women,” “Avenue Q,” “Fiddler on the Roof,” “Rent,” “Hairspray,” and “Gem of the Ocean” were among the plays some in the group attended.
In addition to looking at the content and acting of the plays, the students closely examined the technical aspects of the performances. The costumes, lighting, and set-design were all closely critiqued. Professor Gustafson said that they were found to be of high quality for most of the plays and some parts of the set designs were computer assisted.
Other activities that students participated in included a tour of the Metropolitan Opera House and Radio Music City Hall, visiting the Metropolitan Museum of Art and seeing a ballet.
From left: Bryan Grosbach, Joel Grosbach, Nick Griggs, Althea Harding, Amy Hoffman, Alex Tyler.
Many of the students visited FAO Schwartz, which features the giant floor piano from the movie “Big.” Alex Tyler said that he, Nick Griggs and another student provided background music for the customers and staff in the store by playing “Seasons of Love” from “Rent,” a song they were preparing for the upcoming musical review at the college. “The people in charge appreciated people who knew how to play,” he said. “We went back the next day and played it again.” Professors Gustafson and Tyler agreed that the students had a lot of fun and learned a few things too, including how to navigate the city using public transportation and how to find tickets for shows. Professor Tyler added, “It’s a pretty safe way to experience the city. This was probably the best group I’ve taken to New York City.”
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