April 11 | Arts
MEDIA CONTACT: Judy Moore at 847-491-4819 or jkm229@northwestern.edu
Northwestern to Stage 76th Annual Waa-Mu Show April 29-May 6
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photo by Tom Giglio |
EVANSTON, Ill. --- Northwestern University's 76th Annual Waa-Mu Show, “The Club,” is a high-energy contemporary production with a varied musical score that emphasizes song and dance.
The 2007 Waa-Mu Show will be performed at 8 p.m. Friday, April 27; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, April 28; 2 p.m. Sunday, April 29; 8 p.m.Wednesday, May 2; 8 p.m. Thursday, May 3; 8 p.m. Friday, May 4; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, May 5; and 2 p.m. Sunday, May 6, at Cahn Auditorium, 600 Emerson Street, Evanston campus.
It will be presented under the direction of Northwestern faculty member Dominic Missimi, director of the University's Music Theatre Program, and the baton of the School of Music's Mallory Thompson, director of Northwestern bands.
“After last year's 75th Anniversary Waa-Mu Show, 'Jubilee,' which was very traditional and paid tribute to Waa-Mu's past, this year's show will have a more contemporary feel,” said Missimi, who has directed the production for the past 13 years. “We will have an on-stage band that is more rock focused as well as a full orchestra in the pit that will sweep in when we do more functional music theatre songs. To give this particular night at 'The Club' some drama, we decided to make it the night before it would be torn down and closed forever.”
The 2007 student-written production has new freshmen writers that have been given free rein to write the kind of songs they want to see performed. The Chicago acoustic pop band Down The Line was asked to workshop several songs to give the student writers' songs a “rock n' roll” edge. The band also will be instrumental in several orchestrations for the show.
The Club is a fictional nightspot that features a menu of music that ranges from contemporary rock to country western and from the Latin rhythms of salsa and tango to Broadway tap.
“We tried to write something for everyone's taste,” added Missimi.
Inhabitants of the club include its spirited owner and bartender, a team of “boy band” waiters, a talkative DJ and a club full of faithful patrons. The 55-member cast is one of Waa-Mu's largest, even exceeding last season's 75th Anniversary show.
The Waa-Mu Show was first presented by the Women's Athletic Association and the Men's Union in April 1929. The production was cancelled during the World War II years of 1943, 1944 and 1945. The show's name stands for the two organizations that banded together to present the first show. It soon garnered the reputation as one of “the greatest college shows in America.” Since its first presentation the Waa-Mu Show has served as an important launching pad for some of Northwestern's most talented performers, writers and set designers.
Single tickets are $27 for all seats (Tier 1); $21 for the general public (Tier 2); $17 for senior citizens and Northwestern faculty and staff; and $11 for full-time students.
For more information or to order single or group tickets by phone, call the Theatre and Interpretation Center Box Office at (847) 491-7282.