"Broadway's Next H!t Musical" will take place this weekend as part of Ohio University's Performing Arts and Concert Series.
Two mainstays of the Performing Arts and Concert Series — improv comedy and musicals — are coming together in one show this Moms Weekend.
Broadway’s Next H!T Musical will be at Templeton-Blackburn Alumni Memorial Auditorium on Saturday and is the final event in this academic year’s Performing Arts and Concert Series.
The first act of the show is set at the “Phony Awards,” a play on the Tony Awards. Audience members write down suggestions as to what “nominated song” the presenters will perform. Three songs are selected and then voted on by the audience. The song that “wins” then gets a full production in the second act, complete with a full musical score, characters and plot, to see if it truly could be “Broadway’s next hit musical.”
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All of this will be made up on the spot.
“They create a full musical right in front of your eyes,” said Char Kopchick, assistant dean of students for Campus Involvement, who saw a performance in New York in January 2014. “There were times when I was laughing so hard I was crying. … From the time we walked in to the time we left, it was non-stop entertainment.”
Kopchick’s positive feedback of the show is what prompted Andrew Holzaepfel, senior associate director of the Campus Involvement Center, to book the show for this weekend. Holzaepfel said it’s almost a no-brainer to book comedy shows such as Second City and Broadway’s Next H!T Musical for Ohio University family weekends.
“I think on those weekends, people just want to have fun — both parents and the students,” he said. “Our track record in bringing in comedy for those weekends is that they like these things and they want more.”
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Holzaepfel compared the fun atmosphere of the Second City shows to what people can expect from Broadway’s Next H!T Musical, but Katie Hammond, a company member of the show, said the style of comedy is different. Second City does short-form improv, which is more like games and skits, such as those featured in Whose Line Is It Anyway? Broadway’s Next H!T Musical is long-form improv where one idea is taken over a longer period of time to create something.
Because of the nature of their improv, Hammond said their musical directors are invaluable as they can create overtures, melodies and big closing numbers on the spot.
“I’ve been doing improv professionally for 15 years or so, and this is by far the most challenging show I’ve ever been a part of but also the best,” Hammond said. “These people are the most talented improvisers I’ve ever worked with.”
Even though the show is split into two acts, the performers don’t have a full intermission to create the musical. After the winner is chosen, Hammond said everyone goes backstage to change, pulling things from the “50-pound gig bag” full of random costumes, wigs and props to create these on-the-spot characters and plot.
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“We have maybe five minutes to change,” Hammond said. “It’s so quick (one time) I barely had time to change my shoes. … As soon as the overture starts, we need to be ready because we’re on stage for the rest of the show. … We know each other’s group minds and work hard to make choices to support the story that needs to be told, and the rest of it is by the seat of our pants.”
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