April 12, 2007

Waa-Mu Show goes for contemporary feel this year

On-stage rock band joined by full orchestra to celebrate fictional nightclub

The 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.

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.

Online ticket sales are available through TicketWeb.com.