On a starry, starry Monday night in Cahn Auditorium, students, faculty and alumni paid homage to a man who has inspired them all.
Prof. Dominic Missimi was honored for his 30 years of work at Northwestern at a tribute titled, “Starry Starry Night: A Celebration of Music Theatre and Dominic Missimi.” The director of the music theater certificate program also serves as executive director for NU’s American Music Theatre Project. In addition, he has staged 17 productions of the Waa-Mu Show and more than 35 musicals for the Marriott Theatre in Lincolnshire.
The evening consisted of a variety of performances by notable alumni including Heather Headley, who won a Tony Award for her performance in “Aida,” and Kate Shindle, who has appeared in a number of Broadway shows including “Legally Blonde,” “Cabaret” and “Jekyll & Hyde.”
School of Communication Dean Barbara O’Keefe said the evening was an important kick-off for The Dominic Missimi Fund for Music Theatre. The performance acted both as a tribute for Missimi and a benefit for the fund. The money will go toward additional funding for the music theatre program, including the creation of a music theatre media library and assistance for seniors who are participating in the senior showcase in New York.
“Tonight, we honor a man who has made music theatre his life,” O’Keefe said. “We ensure that Dominic’s dream of building the finest music theatre program in the country will flourish for many years.”
As the lights went down and the chatter of the full auditorium died away, alumnus Bernie Yvon took the stage to welcome the attendees and open the show.
“Welcome to the Dominic Missimi Roast,” he said to laughter. “Are you all ready for this? Luckily the ‘Lost’ finale was last night!”
With that, he broke into the first number, “For Dominic Tonight,” based on the song, “Comedy Tonight” from “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.” Words were changed to reflect Missimi’s time at NU, and the performance ended with members of the music theatre department spelling out Missimi’s name with their bodies.
Distinguished guests introduced accomplished former students taking the stage, with support in certain numbers from current students. Communication junior Taylor Heisley-Cook said she was thrilled to be part of a night dedicated to honoring Missimi.
“I worked with Dominic in Waa-Mu and took a class with him last year,” she said. “He’s just a wonderful person to work with and be around. He will be very missed.”
Speaking to The Daily the afternoon of the event, Missimi said he was sad to leave but thrilled to look back on his time at NU with such a tribute.
“It’s been 30 years of joy,” he said. “I feel I’ve been lucky enough to have this great success story of doing exactly what I always wanted to do-work in music theatre with young people.”
Dusk fell outside and stars speckled the inside of the auditorium as Missimi’s friends, family, proteges and colleagues spent the event honoring the man behind the musical theatre. Missimi said earlier he knew it would be an emotional event for him, but that the emotions would be positive.
“It’s one of the most eagerly anticipated events of my life,” he said. “The stage will be filled with people I love, and the audience will be filled with people who have supported me-this may be one of the greatest nights of my life.” [email protected]
