The nature of the Freshman Musical is making do with what you’ve got.
Freshmen put on the show every year in Harris Hall Room 107, a room that has a stage but is clearly not a theater. Compared to the often glitzy shows put on by the The Virginia Wadsworth Wirtz Center for the Performing Arts or even NU’s largest student-run musical, The Dolphin Show, the Freshman Musical may seem to pale in comparison.
The fun of the tradition lies in capturing the joy and magic of theater without all the money, resources and experience that other shows have.
This year’s musical, “Head Over Heels,” which ran this weekend, did exactly that. While not the sharpest production, the Freshman Musical brought energy with its cast and an upbeat show choice.
The show takes a 16th century story, “The Countess of Pembroke’s Arcadia,” and adds in the rock discography of The Go-Go’s, adapting the show into a musical comedy centered around the royal family of Arcadia.
The King of Arcadia (Communication freshman Jack Shadden) hears from an oracle that the kingdom will lose its “beat,” a mysterious force that keeps the peace in Arcadia. He sets off with his family to try and prevent four prophecies from coming true.
At its core, “Head Over Heels” is a rom-com adventure highlighting the relationships of the daughters, Pamela (Communication freshman Izzy Ornstein) and Philoclea (Communication freshman Orlagh Reardon). These relationships bring some of the best duets in the show and supply a sweet contrast to the mostly zany, sometimes raunchy, style of comedy.
Pamela, after spending her entire life chased by shallow male suitors, ends up with her loyal lady in waiting, Mopsa (Communication freshman Annika Raj) after finally seeing what she wanted has been right in front of her. Her younger sister, Philoclea finds love at the beginning of the show with a shepherd her family does not approve of, Musidorus (Communication freshman Eli Hoffer), who will go to the ends of the Earth to be with her.
The musical shines when it is truly laugh-out-loud funny, and a leader of the show’s humor was Hoffer as Musidorus. As Philoclea leaves town with her family, he follows her, disguising himself as an Amazon woman so her parents will allow him to travel with them.
Hoffer uses every inch of the stage and the academic hall to his advantage as he runs about in a long blonde wig and short cropped chest plate, stealing scenes with his unbridled charisma and joy.
At one point in the show, Musidorus draws the attention of both the King and Queen of Arcadia. Musidorus runs back and forth across the stage, reenacting “feminine” gestures to attract the king and “masculine” ones to attract the queen. The show attempts to make a statement about rigid gender structures, and Hoffer has the crowd in the palm of his hand laughing at every progressively sillier gesture.
Knowing at least some of the audience has sat through a lecture in the same room they are now watching people dance, sing and sword fight on stage, the set is simple and casual.
The Go-Go’s music feels like a blank canvas, allowing the cast to make it into something stunning or something that sounds like it’s from a “Best of the 80s” CD. Nobody seems to paint this blank canvas quite as well as Communication freshman Ava Chen as Pythio. Playing the Oracle who predicted the demise of the kingdom, Chen’s voice commanded the stage and turned radio songs into unforgettable performances.
At some moments, the show clunks along with dance sequences that felt under rehearsed. The costuming was a little rough around the edges, but being polished is not really what the Freshman Musical is about.
Even with limited resources, “Head over Heels” captured the excitement and joy of the freshman class and gave laughter and entertainment to everyone in the audience.
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