“Rent” tells the story of a group of friends in New York City in the early 1990s as they struggle with finding their artistic voice, drug addiction, love and, of course, paying rent. The show’s history is full of tragedy, as Larson died the night before the premiere of the show in 1996. Despite this, “Rent” was a huge hit, winning a Pulitzer Prize, multiple Tony awards and even receiving a film adaptation in 2005.

The BU theatre department’s adaptation of “Rent” was directed by Brandon Wright and Tommy Iafrate, both faculty of the theatre department. Wright, an assistant professor of acting and directing, spoke about what attracted him to the show.

“I think what drew me to it was the challenge of telling this story today,” Wright said. “And trying to find the overlaps in the themes and the message. And the excitement of characters that were close to the actor’s ages.”

One of the trickiest parts about adapting “Rent” for a modern audience is that the show is a period piece set in the 1990s.

“With the 1990s, even though it was a different time, it’s still close enough to where some things are really particular, so we had to do our due diligence with our research and make sure that we weren’t going too contemporary or too far back,” Wright said. “So that was a challenge, but also a blessing.”

Fortunately, the similarities and parallels between the periods of “Rent” today facilitated strong connections between the actors and characters. Patrick Saint Ange, a senior double-majoring in sociology and English, plays Mark in the show, one of the principal characters.

“[Mark] is super relatable in this idea of a character who has this immense responsibility of shaping the narrative about his friends’ lives,” Ange said. “It’s something that every filmmaker has to grapple with — why does your voice matter? That’s a big thing that’s helped me connect to the character because I very much relate to that.”

Beyond the characters, the music of “Rent” is important to the show as the rock undertones help build the realistic and fun, yet tragic atmosphere of the show. However, the many different types of music presented in “Rent” make the show feel unique and keep it fresh throughout its runtime.

“I love different things about different songs,” Wright said. “So I love the jazziness of ‘Santa Fe,’ the honesty of ‘Will I’ and the passion of ‘Rent,’ the opening number.”

Anna Waldbaum, a guitarist in the pit orchestra for “Rent” and a sophomore majoring in biological sciences, has a unique role in that she gets to both participate in the show and witness firsthand the themes and emotional core of the show. She described the show in just one sentence.

“A group of artists trying to find who they are in terms of self-identity, relationships, love, hate and trying to navigate all that,” Waldbaum said.

Likewise, Alondra Schuck, a senior majoring in sociology, plays Mimi in the show, another main character. She spoke about what being a part of “Rent” means to her.

“‘Rent’ has been my favorite musical for many years,” Schuck said. “I think the reason is just that I relate so much to all the characters, and the story is so gritty and emotional and raw. And I just think it’s the best musical ever.”

Despite the almost 30-year gap between the debut of “Rent” and BU’s production of it, the characters and themes are so potent and real that the performers and audience alike can relate to them.

“I would say ‘Rent’ is all about defiance,” Ange said. “Everyone who’s familiar with ‘Rent’ understands the story of [Larson] and the idea of the artists who never really got to see the impact of their work. There is no day but today because tomorrow is not promised and yesterday is gone. So enjoy it now.”

The show runs for two and a half hours with a 15-minute intermission between acts one and two, with shows at 8 p.m. on April 21, 22 and 28, and at 2 p.m. on April 23 and 30. Tickets can be purchased on the Anderson Center for the Performing Arts’ website.

The actors did the story justice, with a narrative consisting of dark undertones and pain-driven experiences, while also holding the audience’s attention through comedic timing. From the beginning of the play it was evident that both the narrator and the characters within the story were meant to represent distinct caricatures, playing into their ’90s-based identities and utilizing dark humor to make light of such serious topics. Playing into the ’90s theme, time period jokes sought to place the scene and evoke laughter for those who understood references like “Twin Peaks,” the VCR, how slow the internet was and Madonna being a symbol in the queer community. Alongside these references were the typical villains and heroes from a ’90s movie — the dorky underdogs versus the mean girl cheerleaders. This was a fun way to approach storytelling and a successful way of getting the audience to feel involved in the show.

Another feat was the action, as Agnes, Tilly and their team fought off the various monsters of the fantastical world of Dungeons & Dragons. The stage combat was impressive and well-choreographed, which is not an easy task, especially for a live performance. The sound effects added to the believability of the fights and the overall adventure. Mary Chattin, a junior majoring in political science, played the character of Agnes and conversed through email about her experience in a show that involved physical responsibilities.

“Keeping myself physically in shape and safe with all the stage combat and fighting has been very important,” Chattin said. “Jacqueline Holloway, our fight choreographer, has been fantastic to work with and makes sure everyone stays safe while fighting on stage.”

From the initial viewing of the stage design, it was apparent that the aesthetic component of the show was well-produced. The stage often consisted of colorful backdrops, large props like the Dungeons & Dragons die and elaborate shadow play. In addition to the stage props, the costumes, particularly the different monsters and the five-headed dragon, the Tiamat, were impressive, well-detailed and were implemented well into the physical choreography of the performers.

To conclude, it is critical to highlight Qui Nguyen’s writing and how the actors portrayed this innovative story. The storyline, which featured serious topics such as homophobia, the struggles of coming out, death and mourning, followed a creative format, alternating between real life and the fictional world that Tilly had created. The use of a fictional world helped audience members to visualize complex themes and follow a narrative filled with heavy material in a way that was entertaining and primarily lighthearted. Chattin commented on these themes and her experience tackling them as an actress.

“It’s been a tough journey, but one that’s been wholly illuminating and humbling to take,” Chattin wrote. “There are situations in this story that I haven’t experienced personally, but having the opportunity to listen to others who have, as well as being guided by our wonderful director Brian Gillespie, have all been crucial in my ability to give the story justice.”

Chattin continued by sharing her thoughts on the choice of the play.

“I think they made a fantastic decision with ‘She Kills Monsters,’” Chattin said. “I don’t think there’s ever a wrong time for a story like this to be told.”

Overall, the cast and crew of “She Kills Monsters” managed to execute a contemporary approach to a timeless discussion about the universal struggles of loss and identity that many individuals still endure today.

The show was created through the musical direction and original compositions of Fabrizio Mocata, and choreographers and artistic directors by GD Tango, the professional name for the duo of Guillermo De Fazio and Giovanna Dan, who are in a professional partnership. All three directors also took a large part in the show’s performances with Mocata as the quartet’s pianist and Fazio and Dan as a dance duo. The quartet also includes a violinist, a bandoneon player and a cellist.

“The show was created with the idea of the evolution of tango,” GD Tango wrote in an email. “Every song travels to a different decade, with the music, costumes and style of dancing. Creating the show was a process of getting to know the genuine personalities of the cast and bringing them alive in all the different decades!”

The show opened with a nice, fast, cheery tone, turning slightly dramatic at times. Intersecting with Mocata’s original compositions, which were performed mostly with just the quartet, there were familiar pieces that even a musical novice could pick up, tweaked to fit the dances’ storylines. One especially humorous moment was when Mocata left his piano to join a female dancer, and her dance partner sneaked over to play the piano badly. For a dance novice, this performance dispels a lot of assumptions generally held toward tango: the dances were sexy, yes, but also flirty, romantic in all of its meaning and quite fun overall.

The second part after the break was distinctly more dramatic, with a boleadoras gaucho act by Dan, who is one of the first women to specialize in this act. With two cowboy-like whips, each having an orb on its end, she performed a complicated dance that included acrobatic moves and tapping the orbs in sync with the music. This was perhaps the most unique and memorable act of the night, diverting from the show’s tango dances and live songs. The other acts kept the dramatic and intense pace — the stories were more subdued and sad compared to the light romantic tones during the first part.

After the show, the audience had the chance to meet the trio of directors at the Osterhout Concert Theater’s reception, where they chatted and gave out autographs. When asked about their touring experience, Fazio and Dan gave a delighted response.

“Touring the show around the [United States] has brought us so much joy,” GD Tango wrote in an email. “We had a standing ovation at every show and we are so proud that we were able to achieve a show with so much traditional tango, and so much personality. It’s truly original!”

This line was one of many memorable bits from Hinman Production Company’s (HPC) Binghamton Night Live (BNL) production ”BNL 12: Cheaper By The Dozen,” which featured 12 student-written sketches that featured a zany cast of characters in the same vein as BNL’s inspiration, “Saturday Night Live.” The Saturday evening performance also featured a Q&A with the different characters and a live musical performance by student band Happy to Be Here.

Katherine Quinn, a junior double-majoring in English and cinema who co-directed, wrote and acted in the production, detailed the fast creative process.

“We began writing the show not long ago,” Quinn said. “This process is really short, which is I think what makes it so unique. We kind of need to throw the show together, but we do it with so much care.”

Sarah Marshall, a first-year graduate student pursuing a Master of Arts in teaching, who acted in the show, said they were impressed by how fast BNL came together.

“It was really amazing how quickly everything came together because we blocked each sketch once and by the next time we were mostly off-book and we were mostly ready,” Marshall said. “Like, we still had to smooth stuff out, but I was so impressed with how quickly we did this.”

The writing process proved to be just as spontaneous as the blocking process. Jack Harkins, a sophomore majoring in cinema who wrote the sketch “Birthday Girl” alongside acting in the show, explained how sketches came together.

“This was my second semester writing, and we started the same way every time,” Harkins said. “We have the directors go up to a whiteboard and just say ‘Does anybody have any ideas?’ Then we would all just raise our hands, just throwing out ideas for sketches, and some of them we like and some of them we don’t like.”

One of the most memorable sketches to come out of this process was “Goth Pass,” written by Todd Sweeney, which saw a group of different self-proclaimed goths competing against each other to get out of gym class.

Another notable sketch was “Square Dance Till You Drop,” which depicted a square dance competition straight out of MTV, complete with cheating and drama. Skyler Sharpe, an undeclared freshman, wrote the sketch in addition to acting in several others. Sharpe described seeing the finished sketch as a paternal experience.

“I can’t really explain it in any other way except that I feel like a parent and this is my child,” Sharpe said. “I watched it from the very seeds of a weird idea, grow up and now it is prospering. And like all the blocking, and all the costumes, it just looks beautiful, and I’m like ‘I’m so proud of you, this is your college graduation my child.’”

One of the most fascinating aspects of BNL was the wide variety of characters that the company played. Harkins described the challenges this brings.

“For sketch comedy, every single time you are on stage, you are playing a different character,” Harkins said. “So it is … a lot more in a different way because there is less stuff to memorize, but you really have to just get each character and it is a lot.”

Ryan Nostro, an undeclared sophomore who acted in the show and played drums for musical guest Happy to Be Here, said how acting brought different challenges for him compared to playing music.

“It’s different goals,” Nostro said. “When you are performing, when you are playing music you are trying to make the best possible sound and energy for the crowd. Whereas when you’re acting and such, it’s like you’re focused so much internally on how you’re presenting yourself whereas in music you are just presenting the music mostly.”

Quinn said she hoped this semester’s BNL provided a nice break from reality for audiences just like it has for her.

“Coming to BNL rehearsals was just such a nice reprieve from everything going on in the world,” Quinn said. “And I think, not to get too pretentious and put my art on a pedestal as if it’s like changing the world, but maybe if it can change someone’s day. I think if you’re having a bad day, and you can come and see a BNL performance and laugh with your friends and go home and giggle and smile I think that’s all I can ask for as a director.”

With its carefree tone and well-curated dancing, “Sunset Mirage” explores the freeness of its characters through styles of tap, ballet and contemporary dance. “Sunset Mirage” takes the concept of yearning for more and translates it through dance. By showcasing a lust of want purely through movement, it creates a call of celebration to the arts and its ability to present complex themes of desire, self-expression and vulnerability.

David Wynen, an assistant professor of theatre and head of dance, directed “Sunset Mirage.”

“My vision was to create something that was theatrical and storytelling so it wasn’t just dance as an abstract thing, it was dance as telling a story,” Wynen said. “The prescription from the department was to be just a dance show but I wanted to not just do separate pieces that meant nothing. I wanted there to be some sort of story and things within it.”

Wynen’s inspiration for “Sunset Mirage” comes from an events held in rural Australia called Bachelor and Spinsters Balls, where young adults come together to have a good time from night until morning.

“I was interested in what would happen in one night in one place,” Wynen said. “What I also tried to do was make it that if you looked at the scenery it was like one night and if you looked at the sky, the sky changed, the lights changed, as the day went on.”

RJ Fox, a senior double-majoring in economics and theatre and Mijiang He, a first-year master’s student studying theatre directing, performed one of the show’s most intimate scenes and captured the essence of what it means to live in the moment. Fox and He perform a style of contemporary dancing that allows for their characters to have a push and pull with one another, thereby creating an unspoken tension that is reflected onstage. Janalyce Lane, a senior majoring in psychology, recognized their tension and said their scene was one of her favorites.

“The scene between the two guys … the choreography was really good and it was a really intense scene,” Lane said.

Lane also shared the impact “Sunset Mirage” had on her individually.

“I’ve been a dancer for a really long time so it was really nice coming to see a stage performance because it was a while since I’ve been able to do that, especially with [COVID-19],” Lane said. “So, it was really nice getting to see everyone just up on stage.”

Lane added how plays like “Sunset Mirage” can impact the Binghamton community.

“It’s a hub where people can come together,” Lane said. “I’ve been involved in the arts for a really long time and I think I’ve seen a lot of beautiful things that it can do and I think when people are able to find access to it, it can be a really nice thing.”

Annaliese Santoro, a freshman majoring in engineering, shared a similar viewpoint.

“I think it adds more culture and exposure to different things,” Santoro said. “I think it’s always good to have more exposure to different things.”

The play is centered around Phyllis, a college professor, and Joyce, a high school teacher, who are a same-sex couple with a very sensitive relationship balance made all the more complex by Joyce’s son Jared, who deals with Asperger’s syndrome and with accepting his condition among other struggles in his life. Body Awareness Week on Phyllis’ campus brings a new layer of duplicity to this family as they host Frank, a photographer specializing in photos of nude women, who brings into question each family member’s conception of their body image and self-image.

Tim Gleason, the play’s director and KNOW Theatre’s artistic director, explained how the quality of the material drove him to select the play.

“My motivation for selecting ‘Body Awareness’ was simple,” Gleason wrote in an email. “Great play, great playwright. Annie Baker is exceptional.”

One of the most captivating aspects is how the complex relationships and dynamics between the characters are clearly and forcefully represented in the performances. Chris Nickerson, who plays Frank, described the atmosphere and work that the actors did to reach this level of genuineness.

“There is a great atmosphere of trust and respect for the actors,” Nickerson wrote in an email. “The time is taken to understand the characters. We spend a bit of time at the beginning to delve deep into the script before we begin staging the play. Movement is always motivated and not just movement for movement’s sake.”

Melanie Paquin, who plays Joyce, detailed how Gleason’s approach helped lead the actors to get the most out of their performances.

“For me personally it was just staying totally present, in every rehearsal and everything that our director was guiding us to,” Paquin said. “He’s like, ‘You’re on your own, it’s up to you to discover this character,’ and of course that takes time and getting to know your other co-actors and their characters and how they all intertwine.”

While much of the play is focused on these relationships, each character has their own personal moments and struggles they have to work through. For the actors, this creates another, more individual aspect of the show they needed to grasp. Paquin explained how her preparation process came from understanding the story threads and repetition.

“The preparation is really just understanding all of the stories together,” Paquin said. “I think really understanding how the other characters have evolved in their own life, where they’re at at the time of the show. Really just, for me it’s just repetition, it’s just doing it over and over again and really just starting to find your flow and your vibe, and just becoming the character.”

For Lori Gordon Wilmot, who portrayed Phyllis, working with Gleason to add a realistic dimension to the dialogue aided her prep.

“[Gleason] was very instrumental because when you are memorizing lines from a play your instinct is to just go to the next line, but sometimes we don’t talk that way in real life,” Wilmot said. “When we’re talking about something heavier, we are going to stop and kind of think for a second or two before we respond to something, and he was very good about guiding me in that way.”

“Body Awareness” challenges its audiences through how it addresses social and cultural issues of body image, mental health and trauma. Gleason spoke on the necessity of remaining honest in how these issues are portrayed.

“The challenge of a play like this is to make sure you stay honest in your presentation,” Gleason wrote. “The truth is on the page and our job is to deliver it. It doesn’t need our help.”

Paquin explained the need in depicting these issues to give audiences room to accept these issues openly.

“I think giving the audience permission to, I don’t want to say laugh at because I don’t mean it in a comedic way, but giving the audience permission to accept that everybody has something and every character has something,” Paquin wrote. “But the social issues, I was very proud to be a part of a show with same-sex relationships and, you know, genetic and mental health issues and showing how we can support and rally around individuals in our society and normalize the fact that everybody has something.”

Wilmot expressed her hopes that audiences will take away a desire to be more open in their relationships.

“I think in every family, in every relationship you have to be open to different viewpoints and different perspectives,” Wilmot said. “So I think that’s what I hope they take away, that they go, ‘Hmm, maybe I need to go home and talk to my son or my husband or my wife, because maybe I misunderstood.’”

Until Feb. 27, “Body Awareness” will continue to run performances at 8 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays as well as at 3 p.m. on Sundays. Student tickets are priced at $15 with a Binghamton University ID.

Dedicated to famous Broadway composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim, who passed away in November of last year, “Sondheim Tribute Cabaret” premiered on Jan. 9 on YouTube. It featured performers singing a variety of numbers from Sondheim musicals such as “Into the Woods,” “Company” and “Assassins.”

Samantha Carroll, director of “Sondheim Tribute Cabaret,” Student Association (SA) vice president for student success and a junior majoring in philosophy, politics and law, explained how this latest cabaret came to be.

“We did a few [cabarets] over the course of the 2020-2021 school year, but we hadn’t had them since,” Carroll wrote in an email. “People seemed to want them back, so I initially planned to have a holiday song cabaret over winter break. But, after it broke that Stephen Sondheim had passed, we decided that a tribute concert to him was apt since most of us love his work and admire his impact on musical [theatre].”

From there, the not “too challenging” creative process, as described by Carroll, was set into motion.

“Basically, people signed up for a specific Sondheim song, and I approved them so there wouldn’t be overlap,” Carroll said. “Then they sent me their videos and I edited them into one show using iMovie and Canva transitions. I did it as a timeline of his work, starting from his first show and ending toward the end of his career.”

For the actors and actresses who took part in the cabaret, like Kristina Yim, a sophomore majoring in psychology, and Devin Mori, an undeclared freshman, previous HPC experiences and the communal experience of putting together theatre motivated them to join the project. Yim said the cabarets offer a fun experience that is different than larger plays or productions.

“I have always been involved in HPC’s cabarets because they are a fun way of getting involved aside from their big productions,” Yim wrote in an email. “I also love watching my friends perform in them, and everyone is always so supportive in the chat during each song.”

Mori expressed a similar sentiment and reason for getting involved.

“I participated in this cabaret for a number of reasons, but mainly because I knew that my friends would be doing it too,” Mori wrote in an email. “All of us use musical theatre to express ourselves emotionally and this cabaret was a perfect opportunity to do so.”

In terms of selecting pieces for “Sondheim Tribute Cabaret,” the performers shared a greater variety of reasons, with their one common thread being previous experiences.

For Kayci Rudge, a senior double-majoring in psychology and women, gender and sexuality studies, their song choice came from experiences at Binghamton University.

“I chose to perform ‘Pretty Women’ from ‘Sweeney Todd: [The Demon Barber of Fleet Street]’ because it’s been a favorite of mine since my [Theatre 101: Intro to Musical Theatre teaching assistant (TA)] days in freshman year,” Rudge wrote in an email. “My friend and I would always joke that many musical theatre songs performed by men could double as queer anthems if sung by someone femme; it was fun to see that idea to fruition as part of the ‘Sondheim [Tribute] Cabaret.’”

For Yim, the “Sondheim Tribute Cabaret” provided an opportunity to present some of Sondheim’s lesser-known work.

“I picked ‘What More Do I Need?’ from ‘Saturday Night’ because it is one of Sondheim’s lesser-known songs, compared to his work from popular shows such as ‘Into the Woods’ or ‘West Side Story,’” Yim wrote. “It was originally written for the show ‘Saturday Night,’ but unfortunately the show closed before it premiered. Since the closing of the show, various songs, such as the one I sang, were performed at various events.”

No matter what, one thing that is undeniable is the unfathomable impact that Sondheim has had on the art of musical theatre, and how long his legacy will live on.

“I think most of his work is incredibly timeless, and he will be permanently remembered as an integral part of theatre history,” Carroll wrote. “Some of the most quintessential examples of musical [theatre] are his work, and I think he will always be remembered for that.”

Watch HPC’s “Sondheim Tribute Cabaret” here.

Taking their own spin on the 1960s musical, “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum,” the show followed Pseudolus, a servant in Rome in ancient times who will do whatever it takes to buy his freedom. In order to do so, Pseudolus conjures up a deal with his younger master, Hero, to help him catch the attention of Philia, the girl of his dreams, in exchange for his own freedom.

However, this is not an easy task. Many obstacles stand in Pseudolus’ way, including Hero’s disapproving parents and an unlikely appearance by a captain who is also in search of his bride. The show takes lots of chaotic twists and turns when Pseudolus gets the neighbors and community involved. Lying, tricking and disguising occur — always with the best of intentions, of course. But when all of the deceit begins to unravel, the characters’ true colors show and Pseudolus must take these plot twists as they come to him, all for the greater purpose of helping his master and getting to live as a free man.

Chetna Khunteta, director of the show and a senior majoring in psychology, said her cast and crew have been working on the production since September.

“I did this show because I first learned about it actually in [Theatre 101: Introduction To Musical Theatre] here,” Khunteta said. “As soon as I learned about the show I just instantly fell in love with it and I was like, ‘I have to direct this show.’”

Despite some technical difficulties and casting issues, the DCP was able to adapt with what it had and made the decision to add a cabaret in the middle, transforming it into a kind of revue. Khunteta said the revue style ended up working out well, especially when the cast was faced with these various obstacles.

Todd Sweeney, a sophomore double-majoring in English and psychology, played Hero in the show and said he saw performing in the show as a new, fun opportunity.

“This was my first college production even though I did a bunch of stuff in high school and funny enough, I wanted to take a break from theatre this semester,” Sweeney said. “But then my friend who has friends from DCP was telling me how they needed people. I decided, why not — I’ll have fun.”

Henry Lee, a senior double-majoring in biology and environmental science, said his decision to audition was more spontaneous, and he enjoyed his experience preparing for the role of Erronius.

“This is my first time acting outside of middle school,” Lee said. “I know the director, she’s a good friend of mine, she told me she was having a show, so I came to audition and here I am. It’s been a blast and it’s a lot of fun. It’s a great way to spend time, and you know that’s what it is, spending a lot of time. But anyone who’s interested should definitely consider giving it a shot. Give it a go, that’s what I say.”

As one of the main characters in the show, Sweeney said he went through an unexpected auditioning process, but it all worked out in the end.

“I auditioned for a mid-size role, but about three days later they emailed me asking if I wanted to be Hero, the lovesick juvenile,” Sweeney said. “So I went along with it, and I’ve been having a blast so far. I have made a lot of good friends and memories. This play has been a lot of fun.”

“Heathers” revolves around high school senior Veronica Sawyer, a nerd who is transformed into a popular girl by Westerburg High School’s Machiavellian queen bees, the Heathers. From there she follows a path of destruction as her boyfriend J.D., the new kid at school, slowly kills off the popular bullies of Westerburg one by one. Through it all, she learns the value of enjoying the teenage experience and staying true to herself.

In choosing HPC’s first live musical in almost two years, co-director and HPC events coordinator Samantha Carroll, Student Association (SA) vice president for student success and a junior majoring in philosophy, politics and law, wanted to bring something with mass appeal that would attract new members.

“I really wanted our first show back from the [COVID-19] pandemic to be really fun, to have a lot of roles for a lot of people and bring a lot of new faces into the club,” Carroll said. “I know ‘Heathers’ is the fan-favorite, it’s a cult classic movie, just a really popular show in general. I think it has a great message, so I thought it was a really great way for us to come back from two semesters of virtual-only shows.”

Co-director Catherine VanLuven, a junior double-majoring in sociology and linguistics, proceeded to join the project based on the reputation of “Heathers” in the musical theatre community.

“I had never actually listened to the show when I agreed to [co-direct] it,” VanLuven said. “But it was a show that has a huge cult following. I’m very much a theatre person, and so I’ve heard a lot about the show, and it’s been a show I’ve always wanted to learn more about and listen to and see … I have a really fresh take on it, so I thought it would be really cool.”

The student-run aspect of the production was a particular highlight for Kristina Yim, a sophomore double-majoring in theatre and integrative neuroscience who played Heather McNamara.

“I love how it’s all student-run,” Yim said. “It’s really awesome to get people of all different ages — people my own age even — getting together and coming from all different backgrounds, all different majors [and] all different experience levels coming together to create the same project.”

The characters in “Heathers” are very much the embodiment of high school cliches: Westerburg High School is a melting pot of jocks, nerds and mean girls.

For Nicole Fauci, a junior majoring in linguistics who played Heather Duke, adapting to such a different character from her personality was a fun challenge.

“I’ve never really played a role like this before,” Fauci said. “I’ve always played like the really sweet little girl … It’s great having people you can work with so easily. I think the Heathers and Veronica, we work really well together and just having that dynamic and having really good actors by your side really helped me bring out the meanie inside me.”

In developing her character, Morgan Orzeck, a junior majoring in psychology who played Veronica Sawyer, noted one particular rehearsal during the process that she felt helped.

“We had one day during rehearsal where we all kind of got together, and we did a bunch of acting exercises,” Orzeck said. “[We] switched parts in some scenes, and we got to talk to our scene partners, and we talked about characters, nuances and their trajectory throughout the show. Especially with Veronica and J.D., who … has a lot of scenes within the show.”

Watching the production, the energy that came from the crowd was abundant. The audience ate up every song and joke thanks in no small part to the deliveries and performances of the company. This helped make many moments of the show particularly memorable, and a few cast members shared their favorites.

“I think my favorite moment in the show is ‘Fight for Me,’” Orzeck said. “I think it’s a really funny moment because Veronica is essentially singing about how she has a crush on this guy, and meanwhile behind her the guy that she’s singing about and the two jocks are literally beating each other up behind her … The contrast is just really funny.”

“My favorite moment in the show is ‘Never Shut Up Again,’” Fauci said. “Not just because I sing it. I think it is a really pivotal moment for Heather Duke. You know, her best friend is dead and now she has [Heather McNamara] and [Heather McNamara] is a little airy, and I think that is her breaking point … She just snaps like immediately, and it’s so great to go through the process of her emotions and her character.”

When the proverbial curtains came down, “Heathers” left audiences to reflect on the show’s strong and taboo themes. Fauci highlighted those that she wanted audiences to take away.

“This show is very deep,” Fauci said. “It’s very dark, and it’s very deep. Besides the singing and, you know, we got Ms. Fleming. But I think, just stay true to who you are, stay true to your friends because if you try to be somebody you’re not, things always are not going to end up correct or good.”

The Playwrights and Artists Festival, which involves three sets of two plays running on consecutive days, returns for its 18th year with a two-weekend engagement running from Nov. 19 to Nov. 23 and Nov. 26 to Nov. 28. The plays are written based on three paintings selected by the KNOW Theatre’s founder and artistic director, Tim Gleason. Playwrights are able to submit works from across the country.

Gleason provided further insight into this year’s selection process.

“I have many associates through the [Kennedy Center American College Theater] Festival that I call on to help with selection,” Gleason wrote in an email. “We had 86 submissions this year. We split them into groups by painting and send them off to my colleagues. They choose their top 10, we then switch readers and get down to their top five with a number score. I read the last 15 and score them. All readings are done without anyone knowing the playwright.”

Announced in a KNOW Theatre press release, this year’s schedule of selected plays is as follows: “A Voice in the Prussian Sea” by Aly Kantor and “Good Bones” by Chris Shaw Swanson, inspired by Mary Rose’s painting “Stairway to Heaven” on Nov. 19 and Nov. 26, “Maybe Tomorrow” by Brian Leahy Doyle and “The Spot” by Judd Lear Silverman, inspired by Judy Irwin-Salton’s painting “Family Picnic” on Nov. 20 and Nov. 27 and “Origin” by Ron G. Rosenfeld and “Supporting Actors” by Louis DeVaughn Nelson, inspired by Hannah Goldberg’s painting “Eat More Chikin” on Nov. 21 and Nov. 28.

This year’s festival comes after 2020’s Playwright and Artists Festival was confined to a virtual format.

Jeff Tagliaferro, ‘17, the assistant artistic director of KNOW Theatre, explained the process behind putting on last year’s festival.

“After canceling all of our live performances in March of 2020, we jumped into Zoom to present last year’s Playwrights and Artists Festival,” Tagliaferro wrote in an email. “While theatre is never great in a digital medium, we found success as we had playwrights from California, Illinois, Miami and [New York City] involved, and since our performances were Zoom-streamed we were able to host the playwrights and their friends and families who otherwise would probably not have traveled all the way to Binghamton for the event.”

Now the crew at KNOW Theatre prepares to return to a live audience, and Tagliaferro, who is also directing “Maybe Tomorrow” and “Supporting Actors,” detailed the creative process behind the festival thus far.

“We have a pretty small space,” Tagliaferro wrote. “Intimate is the best word for it. We work out of an old firehouse on Carroll Street just beyond the hubbub of the State Street bars [in Downtown Binghamton]. Attempting to rehearse six plays at the same time in our space is hectic but also really fun! Typically, for our main stage productions, we rehearse for six weeks and actors are called anywhere from 12 [to] 20 hours a week. The festival is a different beast. We cast the shows after a mid-October audition and set off rehearsing for about four weeks prior to opening night. Since we all split time on the stage for rehearsals, each cast only gets somewhere between [four to] 10 hours of rehearsal a week. It becomes a very condensed process comparatively.”

As the show dates draw near, Tagliaferro said audiences can expect a variety of stories and experiences from the coming festival.

“As always, we have an eclectic handful of plays; a few endearing love stories, some sociopolitical commentary, time travel and even some farm animals,” Tagliaferro wrote. “I think the ultimate draw is the [discussion] with all the artists involved. Each night after the performances we bring the artist, playwrights, musicians (there are also original compositions created, inspired by the artwork) and actors up onto the stage to discuss the processes with the audience. The festival always ends with great conversation.”

Gleason, meanwhile, said he was excited to bring the festival before a live audience once more.

“Having the audience with us is where theatre thrives,” Gleason wrote. “It is that exchange of energy and thought in the same room that has kept theatre alive through the centuries.”

For those interested in the Playwrights and Artists Festival, more information and tickets can be found on KNOW Theatre’s website.

In many ways, “Clue: On Stage” is a magic act. The colorful chaos that unfolds on the stage not only entertains but also distracts from the murder mystery playing out before your eyes. The play followed a cast of mysterious individuals brought together at a suspicious manor to confront the man blackmailing all of them, and from there a series of hijinks played out full of secrets, deception and a fair amount of murder.

The cast of characters was brought to life by a troupe of actors whose interplay introduced comedy and exchanges that went beyond the scripted action.

Rachel Shteynman, director of the production and a senior majoring in biology, said this chemistry was present from the beginning of production.

“During the auditions before they were even cast as their characters, I had opened up the audition room, [and] they were already set in a little circle,” Shteynman said. “They were already talking with each other, they were already getting close. Then I remember at our table read, which was the first rehearsal … everyone was so well cast and just perfect. There was just so much chemistry in the room that we already knew this was going to be special.”

Lexi Austin, a junior majoring in philosophy who played the zealot, Mrs. Peacock, expressed a similar sentiment regarding not just the talent of the company but also of the crew.

“The amount of talent in the room is just amazing every single day,” Austin said. “I’m just so surprised. Not even just like the actors, but I mean like looking at the set now that it is finished, the directors are amazing [as] every tip they give has made the performance 20 times better every single time. Everybody is just amazing!”

Indeed, the talent of the cast and crew was made much more apparent having watched both an early dress rehearsal and a performance. The actors had the ability to evolve the show over the span of merely a couple of days.

In keeping with the mysterious nature of the plot, each actor did an excellent job in presenting and hiding the dark layers of their characters. Depicting devious criminals is not a natural mindset for most people, and several cast members explained their processes of preparation for their parts.

Antonia Canosa, a senior majoring in integrative neuroscience who played the seductive and manipulative Miss Scarlett, described all of the thoughts and details that went into bringing her character to life.

“I spent a lot of time thinking about what would need to be true about this person’s personality in order for her to be involved in this mess,” Canosa said. “Like, OK, if she is doing this type of job, especially in the 1950s, that must mean that she is sharp and brutal. And all these things started popping into place based on who she would need to be in order to say the things she says and react the way she reacts … I’ve never played a part where I had to be this like ‘sexy’ or ‘flirty’ before, which is pretty new for me, but I feel like the directors have been super helpful, and the cast has been super supportive.”

For Jack Harkins, an undeclared sophomore who played the supposed Mr. Boddy, preparation came from his experience with the source material and other influential media.

“I’ve known the movie since I was a little kid, so I know the characters really well,” Harkins said. “I was able to like really jump into the show really easily, and for me, since I play Mr. Boddy, I wanted to play it like how Joaquin Phoenix plays the Joker as I thought it would be really fun, so that’s what I did.”

The play itself had numerous standout moments of humor and suspense, and Canosa and Austin both shared the same favorite moment.

“Definitely my showdown with Wadsworth,” Canosa said. “That has never gone the same way twice, and it’s going to be interesting to see what ends up on the stage because both of our blood goes really up, we’re both fighting over a gun, and it just gets really crazy.”

“I really like the ending scene,” Austin said. “Everything gets revealed, and it’s awesome. Everyone’s true characters are coming out, and we’ve got all of this stuff going on … It’s like,’Who [did] it?’. And now we have finally figured it out.”

More than anything else, Shteynman hoped to create something with suspense that got people talking.

“This is a one-act play, it doesn’t have two acts, but I separated it into two acts so that there would be an intermission,” Shteynman said. “The place where I made the split was very purposeful because I want the idea of everyone being able to leave like ‘Who killed him? Who did this? Who did that?’ The idea of the mystery leaves the room … I just want to bring whatever is happening on the stage to be outside of it too.”

If the goal was to keep the mystery alive, then “Clue: On Stage” was indeed a success.

Sydney Perruzza, a senior majoring in psychology, pitched the show to HPC this semester and explained how its plot interested her.

“There is relatability in the stories that they tell, where you’re moving away from home and leaving behind that life and thinking that school is gonna be this weird place,“ Perruzza said. “But then it turns into [the idea that] home is such a universal feeling and that’s just one example. I felt like somebody that was watching could find a piece of themselves in the show.”

Parker Chafetz, director of the show and a senior majoring in psychology, said that the characters’ stories had to be told in a different way due to the show’s virtual format.

“I feel like a lot of the stories really speak for themselves in the lyrics,” Chafetz said. “The most creative expression that we really used was in editing and sometimes set design, so for example in [the song] ‘Me & Ricky,’ we had a big discussion about what the set would look like. We really wanted it to look like a claustrophobic, tense environment, so we used LED lights and a black backdrop to kinda make it look like an interrogation room vibe.”

Focusing on the environment helped create a unique tone and setting for each musical number. In “The Theory of Relativity,” actors either filmed themselves or were filmed by the production staff, one by one. While this limited the cast’s interaction, it also meant there were a lot more backgrounds to consider, as the show was completely virtual.

“[There was] nothing specifically that we wanted to change from the original format,” Chafetz said. “It was more just taking the message of each song and transforming it into what virtual theatre can do as opposed to what regular theatre can do.”

Virtual theatre creates new opportunities for creativity, and the editing created some remarkable moments in the production. For the song “Great Expectations,” the lighting, choreography and editing were used while the actors’ individual boxes on the screen were moved into a triangle formation and the main soloists were cast in their own colored lights. For the song “Lipstick,” the concrete background broke open and switched to a background full of hearts, signifying the soloist went into a daydream, before the entire process reversed and the soloists were back to reality with the grey concrete background once again. To connect actors to their characters, Chafetz found ways to give them more freedom in their acting choices.

“We gave a general idea of what we wanted for each character, and they would send us ideas of what they had in their wardrobes,” Chafetz said. “So yeah, that was another really fun collaborative part of the process where people got to kind of create their own character and make it feel like their own.”

Each scene was carefully edited to close this semester’s HPC season.

“We’re really, really, really proud of ourselves for making this show happen along with two other virtual shows this semester,” Chafetz said. “HPC has been a family and a home for so many people over so many years, we actually just had our, what, 40th anniversary last year, and the pandemic really scared a lot of our current E-Board members as to how HPC would survive. I’m really, really proud of HPC as a whole, in putting on virtual shows and kind of keeping the spirit of HPC as alive as possible throughout this pandemic. And we’re really excited to see where it goes once we’re on the other side of this.”

HPC has been a home for many BU students and as the seniors have their final production, new faces will be brought in and HPC will have more room to grow and change. Theatre is an art form that has been struggling in this pandemic, and this production has worked to exceed the limits of the virtual format by turning those limits into an asset.

Andrew Ajaka, a junior majoring in theatre, directed the production and wrote in an email that the play was adjusted to fit today’s restrictions. Although it was done mostly in the style of a video call, the play did not lose any value in the transition.

“We didn’t change anything in the script, but we did work very specifically to craft our storytelling to live honestly in the ‘Zoom world,’” Ajaka wrote.

“Lonely Planet” revolves around two main characters, Jody and Carl, and has an overarching grimness underlying the whole play. Jody works in a map store, while Carl is Jody’s friend who is never clear about his line of work. The ever-relevant grimness that surrounds Jody and Carl is brought on by an epidemic that shakes the world they live in, much like the recent COVID-19 pandemic.

“Lonely Planet” first premiered in 1993, and made it to New York in 1994. It was recently performed in 2017 as an off-Broadway production by the Keen Company. Ajaka found the play to be very timely and touching while the 2020 pandemic roared on.

“I read this play first before the initial quarantine was put into effect, and then again a half a year later, and found myself bawling by the end of the first act,” Ajaka wrote.

The play never distinguishes what the “epidemic” is, so it’s allowed to be present and relatable no matter the year. The recent pandemic that shook the world as we knew it instantly comes to mind when watching Ajaka’s production, and the video-call style continues the theme nicely. Though the COVID-19 pandemic has affected Ajaka and comes to mind while watching a play about an epidemic, “Lonely Planet” was originally written at the time of the AIDS epidemic. Ajaka wrote that he saw this as an opportunity to educate audiences about the seriousness of the time period.

“My hopes for this piece are to use its liminal setting to create a bridge of empathy between eras and hopefully give people space and drive to begin learning more about how horrifying the reality of this period in American history really was,” Ajaka wrote.

The cast and crew of “Lonely Planet” began rehearsals on April 2 and performed for audiences on April 30 through May 2. Its use of technology to display the play in a relevant way was very refreshing because not every production translates well digitally. The beauty and love shared between its two stars, Jody and Carl, illustrates a human bond through times of hardship in a very unique way. Its comedic tendencies show a more personable approach to dealing with a life-altering event such as an epidemic, and the play paints the characters as people trying in their own ways to navigate difficult situations.

The dysfunctional, confusing times that come from a sweeping epidemic make true understanding and acceptance very hard to reach. With regards to the main mood of the production, Ajaka wrote, “Seeing all of those that you love pass away, with seemingly no explanation, and with no support or even acknowledgment from a negligent administration is horrifying.”

The feeling of loss and confusion follows Jody and Carl throughout the play, forcing audience members to confront the harsh realities of epidemics while showing how important it is to care for one another.

2020 was a year of loss, but one that brought strength and resilience to people all over the world. Support among friends in times when it was not safe to see one another was very crucial. The production of “Lonely Planet” reminded audience members to not only reflect on our recent pandemic but to remember those ignored and lost to previous ones as well. The students transitioned the play from theater to video format seamlessly and maintained all of the emotion and feeling needed to tell the stories of Jody and Carl as they navigated hardship.

While the play differs in format from how it was originally performed because of the pandemic, HPC remained true to its roots with relatable characters and family dynamics. “The Humans” is set in a Chinatown apartment on Thanksgiving Day and exposes the inner workings of the Blake family. Each one of the six characters is showcased in a box on the screen and throughout the play, they all disappear and pop back up when it is their time to speak. The format gives an ode to the original set that appeared as an open-front dollhouse, with multiple levels.

Samantha Carroll, a sophomore majoring in philosophy, politics and law, directed the show and wrote about having to navigate a virtual format.

“Directing has been really challenging in the virtual format, but I’m so proud of my creative team and how we overcame the obstacles we faced,” Carroll wrote. “While I definitely prefer live theatre, this has been such a useful learning experience!”

Each one of the characters is easy to identify and relate with yourself, or one of your family members. The parents, Erik and Dierdre, alongside the grandmother Momo, come to visit their daughters Aimee and Brigid, along with Brigid’s boyfriend Richard. From the start the interactions are a bit awkward and a sense of omission is in the air — Dierdre is unhappy that Brigid and Richard aren’t married and Aimee is unhappy because she and her girlfriend broke up. All of this occurs while simultaneously, the upstairs neighbor makes loud thumping noises and Momo, who has dementia, keeps having unpredictable outbursts. As dinner continues and more alcohol is poured, the interactions sway between shallow pleasantries and brutally honest stories about each one of their lives. Erik finally comes clean about being fired from his job for having an affair with a co-worker. This is a life-changing moment for each one of the family members who are all in very different stages of life.

“Secrets are revealed, long time disagreements are reignited and lifelong fears are faced, all while watching over the family’s dementia-ridden grandmother,” Carroll wrote. “This play shows characters experiencing the life events we, as humans, fear the most — each in different ways. Will the Blakes ever sees one another the way they did before this dinner?”

In the end, “The Humans” navigates life circumstances, individual personality and ultimately how difficult it can be to remain tethered to one’s family. Although the exact details of the Blake family dinner might not be exactly relatable to all viewers, hectic family dinners are something many of us can relate to. HPC was able to remain true to this while navigating an all virtual format.

“A big takeaway is to acknowledge the role fear plays in your life,” Carroll wrote. “Especially after such a challenging year, it’s important to face what you may be feeling.”

“The Humans” is available for viewing on the Hinman Production Company YouTube channel.

The first act opens on the night of Conrad’s big performance where he presents his play to his mother Emma, a famous actress who had Conrad when she was still a teenager. Emma’s boyfriend, renowned author Doyle Trigorin, complicates things for Conrad. Nina, Conrad’s girlfriend, falls for Trigorin, while Mash, his mother’s cook, tries to reveal to Conrad how much she loves him. As if this wasn’t enough unrequited love, Conrad’s friend Dev is also madly in love with Mash. It’s a tangled mess of love, desperation and unrequited feelings, as Mash loves Conrad, who loves Nina, who — well you get it. It’s complicated.

The script itself is introspective, dynamic and complex, exploring deep topics and emotions while working to maintain some humorous scenes. It was the first script they had sent to one another, and it remained their number one choice.

The show’s directors Jacob Parker, a senior majoring in music, and Hannah Nathanson, a junior majoring in English, had a lot of time to choose a script, and “Stupid Fucking Bird” stood out to both of them.

“We both fell in love with it, and then we spent like a month reading other scripts like, ‘Yeah we could direct this’ but it was very much, we knew — we just wanted to direct ‘Stupid Fucking Bird,’” Nathanson said.

Filming and rehearsing the show during the COVID-19 pandemic has its own challenges, but according to Nathanson, the more difficult the process is, the sweeter the finished product becomes.

“We had sent things to the HPC Listserv, and the cinema department listserv,” Nathanson said. “So that we could get people with film experience, and editing experience working with us that may not have thought their skills correlated with theatre in the past, and hadn’t really looked into on-campus theatre since things are so different virtually.”

The rehearsal and filming process for “Stupid Fucking Bird” required a different approach than live theatre. A lot had to be taken into consideration — set continuity, shooting at different angles and their vision of the final play. As a play that was written to be performed for a live audience and the directors, cast, crew and film teams had to find a way to emotionally reach the audience from a screen.

A sneak peek at the edited opening scenes shows a lively, vivacious cast that will succeed at pulling the audience in and captivating the observer. If you are someone looking for something to do this weekend, make sure to see “Stupid Fucking Bird” for an interactive, virtual experience whose motifs and characters will stay in your head and heart long after the curtain closes.

The show was co-directed by Lorin Miller, a junior double-majoring in English and Italian, and Henry Sinnott, a senior double-majoring in mathematics and economics. Both students have been involved with past BNL performances, this one being Miller’s fifth and Sinnott’s seventh, yet neither had prior experience with an online show. Despite this, the production group, comprised of around 30 students in total, focused on the silver linings instead of the clouds.

“When we found out we’d be doing a virtual BNL, we tried to look at it optimistically and think about the new possibilities the online format gave us, rather than the limitations,” Miller said. “We’re proud of what we were able to come up with.”

The event premiered on HPC’s YouTube channel. A live chat allowed for viewers to interact throughout the show, a function that would quickly prove popular. Even in the minutes leading up to the premiere, the chat was flooded with excited messages, a digital version of the pre-show chatter that typically fills a theater.

The show kicked off with an upbeat parody of the popular song “WAP” by Cardi B featuring Megan Thee Stallion, which in this case, stood for “Welcome Amidst a Pandemic.” Complete with renditions of popular TikTok dances and splits, the clever lyrics poked fun at some of the pandemic’s effects on BU students, such as reducing campus life to games of cornhole and the looming possibility of a shutdown. As one of the lyrics said, “What about Dilly’s, did you see that line?”

The WAP parody’s plethora of Bearcat-specific references embodied what Miller described as a key driver of the show’s overall creative direction: the students.

“BNL is different than any other show on campus because the humor is tailored specifically to [BU] students,” Miller said. “Humor is one of the best ways to reach people and highlight your shared experiences.”

Some of these shared experiences, as demonstrated by “WAP,” were ongoing ones. For example, one skit took the form of a YouTube video uploaded by influencer “Corona Virus,” burlesquing the typical influencer “apology video” down to every tear. In a mock Zoom call, students made fun of their professor for having a race car bed — and yes, this skit did feature a real race car bed, making it the most expensive sketch in BNL history. Additionally, in the first-ever “Weekend Update” segment, taking influence from the popular “Saturday Night Live” (SNL) segment, hosts touched on multiple elements of current events and pop culture. This entailed everything from literally just screaming about Amy Coney Barrett’s Supreme Court confirmation to the fact that neither host had ever seen two pretty best friends. Still, other skits emphasized commonalities from Generation Z’s earlier years.

“We knew coming into this one [show] that we wanted to have some sketches about the pandemic — it’s unavoidable — but we also wanted a good amount of sketches that have nothing to do with that,” Sinnott said.

One such sketch was a parody of Disney’s old commercial break segment “TTI: The Time I,” in which a student recounted the time she got peed on at The Rathskeller. Additionally, a nostalgic “Tooth Tunes” commercial was rebranded as “Tooth Tunes for Sad Adults,” in which the original toothbrush’s upbeat music was swapped for “Blonde”-era Frank Ocean songs. Miller said that a lot of work goes on behind the scenes.

“Don’t get us wrong, this BNL was not easy to make,” Miller said. “It took imaginative writers, some very patient editors and a cast with a ‘can-do’ attitude to turn BNL (COVID-1)9 into what it is.”

“It’s bittersweet to not go out on a truly live BNL,” Sinnott said. “But it was so much fun getting to end with something so new and different.”

On the bright side, Miller believes the memories will be preserved — at least digitally.

“I’m happy we’re putting all the sketches on YouTube this semester so they can live in a dark corner of the internet forever,” Miller said.

COVID-19 has changed many facets of life, including theatre. Nevertheless, the group’s shift from the traditional to the virtual stage serves as an ode to the most famous showbiz quotes of all: The show must go on!

The event was hosted on YouTube, with the site’s “Premiere” function allowing audience members to react to the performances in real-time. Things kicked off with a brief, warm welcome from Sydney Perruzza, a senior majoring in psychology and HPC’s event coordinator.

Some performances epitomized our most well-established, “evil” notion of villains. Among these were Eliana Sastow, an undeclared freshman, who sang “Evil Like Me” as Maleficent from “Descendants.” Morgan Orzeck, a sophomore majoring in psychology, sang a rendition of “All Falls Down” as Hedda Hopper from “Chaplin.” Nicole Fauci, a sophomore majoring in theatre, told the nightmarish scary story of a prom gone very wrong in her chilling performance of “The Ballad of Sarah Berry” from “35MM: A Musical Exhibition.” Katherine Quinn, a sophomore majoring in English, did not hesitate to go full Ursula in her performance of “Poor Unfortunate Souls” from “The Little Mermaid,” batting her violet eyelashes and displaying pelagic props.

Other students explored the descent into madness, such as Joshua Curry, a sophomore majoring in human development, who performed “Alive (Reprise)” from “Jekyll & Hyde.” His widened eyes and crazed grin evinced an unhinged alternate personality’s sense of maniacal joy. Dani Collins, a junior majoring in English, took a different approach to this same idea with “The Mad Hatter” from “Wonderland,” a jazzier, up-tempo piece certain to get the audiences’ hearts racing right along with the pulsing hi-hats and fast-paced vocal runs.

Yet other students demonstrated other, unconventional aspects of villains such as their funnier sides. Nick Erb, a senior majoring in business administration, performed “Freeze Your Brain” as J.D. from “Heathers the Musical,” a song centered around a 7-Eleven slushy, with the memorable line “Happiness comes / when everything numbs / who needs cocaine?” perfectly accented by a swift gesture to his nose. Parker Chafetz, a senior majoring in psychology, dazzled as King George from “Hamilton” with his rendition of “You’ll Be Back” wrapped in his blanket as a royal robe. The subtitles amplified the already-comical lyrics for an awesome performance worth laughing out loud.

Also defying our conventional idea of a “villain,” but portraying a different George, was Perruzza’s own rendition of Regina George’s “Someone Gets Hurt” from the show Mean Girls, sporting Regina’s infamous pink attire. Jamie Berger, a junior majoring in psychology, performed “Dear Theodosia” from “Hamilton” which also gave her villain, Aaron Burr, a rounder characterization — the sweet ballad let the audience see another, non-dueling side of Burr.

While all the performances were truly stellar, there nevertheless seemed to be a few audience favorites. The first of these was Allison Sanel’s, an undeclared freshman, performance of “Mother Knows Best” as Mother Gothel from the Disney movie “Tangled.” Sanel conveyed the suspenseful, underlying motive beneath the lyrics which, at first glance, may appear to reflect nothing but a mother’s standard protective tendencies. Her voice and facial expressions constituted an overall performance that demonstrated inarguable talent.

“I kinda only chose Mother Gothel because I watched Tangled a few weeks ago and the song was stuck in my head,” Sanel said.

Maggie Koekkoek, Student Association (SA) executive vice president and a senior majoring in biomedical engineering, Tessa Livingston, a senior majoring in integrative neuroscience, and Amram Zeitchik, a senior majoring in biomedical engineering, portrayed characters known as “The Cheerios” from the television show “Glee.” The seniors acted as Quinn, Brittany and Santana, respectively. The three employed costumes, choreography, dialogue and scene changes in their performance. This fun was not exclusive to the performers, however. The new level of production allowed the fun to diffuse to the audience as well, making it feel like an actual show.

“We had purchased the costumes for Halloween, so we thought learning the dance and performing it would be a really fun way to get involved in cabaret,” Zeitchick said.

Julianne Darden, a sophomore double-majoring in theatre and sociology, gave a noteworthy, poignant performance of “Hellfire” as Judge Frollo from “The Hunchback of Notre Dame.” Her beautiful voice raised every hair of the audience, even through the screen.

“I picked Frollo because he has to be, in my opinion, the most underrated Disney villain there is,” Darden said. “His character is so incredibly complex and I definitely wanted to challenge myself acting-wise to see how I’d be able to portray him.”

The cast had just started rehearsal when the COVID-19 shutdown started, according to assistant director Samantha Goss, a senior double-majoring in theatre and English.

“Over the summer we decided to continue doing ‘Macbeth’ this semester and invited some of the actors that graduated last semester in their original roles that they had been cast for,” Goss said. “Since it was already underway from last spring, it was easy to move forward.”

Even though the show is online, the production still involved traditional elements of theatre production.

“Our department wanted to go all in,” Goss said. “We wanted to use costumes, sound, lighting and have the whole effect that you would have if you were in the theatre.”

During the show, actors appear in boxes on screen, with effects and background images changing throughout the scenes. Goss said the tech team used an application to pull images from Zoom and put them into a second system called Open Broadcaster Software (OBS). With that, actors were placed into boxes in pre-queued sets.

“The actors use the same sort of webcam and they use filters,” Goss said. “The actors themselves also switch the lights and work with their props.”

James Brannigan, a junior double-majoring in theatre and English, plays a witch in “Macbeth” and added more insight into the structure of the theatrical presentation.

“It’s all of us in our Zoom boxes — the size of the boxes, where we are on the screen and when we appear and disappear is all controlled,” Brannigan said. “Behind the boxes are really cool renderings of the scenery like the castle and the foggy woods, it’s one image behind all of us.”

Brannigan said that the visual aspects that the creative team worked on during production added depth to the show.

“This is really involved, there’s a lot of detail and a lot of work has been put into the visual representation,” Brannigan said. “I think when I heard it was going to be done over Zoom I expected a more toned-down, minimalist approach. But this is the opposite. They are throwing everything they can at the design and it’s really cool.”

COVID-19 has changed many aspects of society and has had a large impact on theatre. Goss explained how the team adapted to these new circumstances with rehearsals and communication.

“Rehearsals are different [since] we are all used to being together,” Goss said. “It was a learning curve as rehearsals were happening online. It was really cool to see how it came together. The whole creative team worked incredibly hard.”

Brannigan was cast in the spring production of the show. He still wanted to participate when it was rescheduled for this fall, but said the process of rehearsal has been different this semester.

“It’s been a lot more sitting down, that’s for sure, but I think the fundamental difference at least for me is that it’s a lot more difficult being spontaneous and discovering things about a scene in the moment with the other cast members,” Brannigan said. “It takes a lot more work on one’s own and a lot more work with the script, it’s a lot more self-reliant process.”

The show is live — not prerecorded. Goss said that this aspect made the theatre experience authentic for viewers who cannot attend it in person.

“Everything happening is live so there is room for error like there would be normally,” Goss said. “We are bringing that live theatre experience to you, wherever you are.”

As theatre continues to adapt to COVID-19, Goss expressed excitement for the future of the field as it evolves alongside technology.

“I think it’s cool we were able to bridge this gap and figure out there is a way to do theatre,” Goss said. “I think it’s possible that some theatre [groups] will have virtual performances even after all the restrictions are laxed. It’s a platform where people can be together from all over and create a performance without having to be in the same spot.”

Charles Meckley, ‘20, plays a witch in the show. He explained how the process was different from other acting experiences.

“The most difficult part was envisioning the final project because when we started, it was very unsure,” Meckley said. “I graduated and I wasn’t sure what the show would be like. After lockdown it was nice to be back acting, but it was a challenge to be online.”

Meckley said that the acting process can be disrupted by Zoom since there isn’t a live audience to work with.

“Acting is so much working off the energy of people with you in the room,” Meckley said. “When you have the disconnect of a video call it can be challenging. I think the amount of production that we were able to achieve with costumes and lighting will surprise people.”

“Macbeth” was written by the English playwright William Shakespeare in the 1600s, but its themes continue to be relevant today. Meckley said aspects of the play’s chaotic nature are especially true to today’s world.

“The witches are just so chaotic and their purpose, in a way, is to meddle in human affairs and put awful things in motion,” Meckley said. “It does feel reminiscent of this world where all of the bad things keep piling on. That reminds me of the world today, where chaotic things keep happening.”

Brannigan encourages people to see the show as it will be a unique experience.

“I think it will be literally unlike anything we have seen before,” Brannigan said. “Because of our unique circumstances and the incredible creativity from the cast, design team, directors, virtual stage managers and everyone.”

The BU theatre department’s “Macbeth” will be streamed this Thursday, Oct. 22 and Sunday, Oct. 25. Tickets are $6 and can be bought through the Anderson Center’s website.

Erin Stahley, co-director of the show, president of HPC and a senior double-majoring in English and political science, discussed how “If/Then” was more ambitious than previous HPC projects.

“Over the past few semesters, HPC has been starting to push the limits of our previous shows,” Stahley said. “‘If/Then’ is a larger production than what we might have done a few years ago, especially from a technical aspect. For example, we did a lot of fun things to help the audience along the way to understand what’s going on with the two lives, like different lighting with our new LED lights.”

HPC performs its shows in the Hinman Commons each semester. According to Stahley, the limited space and resources serve as a challenge for the cast and crew of “If/Then.”

“The thing that makes HPC unique is definitely our space,” Stahley said. “It’s small, so we have more of a black box [theater] feeling to our shows, which I feel is really special and unique and gives the audience a more intimate experience.”

Stahley explained how the limited space restricted cast size, thereby influencing the music in the show.

“We had to limit our cast size because of our space,” Stahley said. “We had a little difficulty getting the vocal parts to fit our cast size because a lot of the music requires everyone to be on their own harmony.”

Claire Mills, music director of the show and a junior majoring in music, helped adapt the vocals for the cast size.

“Since we have such a small cast, I had to go through every written vocal part and assign who I thought would best sing every line,” Mills said. “They’re doing such a great job — I’m so happy with it.”

Sydney Perruzza, a junior majoring in psychology, plays the main character, Elizabeth. Perruzza she said portraying two narratives at the same time can be a challenge.

“I feel like this is one of the hardest productions we’ve ever done,” Perruzza said. “There are a lot of elements to the show. The music is really difficult, and for my character, her life splits in the first part of the show. You’re watching the show, but there are two lives happening at the same time. We’re trying to make it so everyone understands that. This is one of my dream roles, so I’m so excited I get to play it.”

“If/Then” is a show about choices and the impact they have on the outcomes of peoples’ lives. Stahley said the show’s message has resonated with her, especially as a college senior.

“The message of this show really speaks to me,” Stahley said. “It’s about choices and fate. Being a senior in college, I have a lot of those things to think about, a lot of what-ifs and what is to come in the future. Should I be worrying about every decision I make, or should I just make a decision and let it take me somewhere, and that’s really what the show is about. It’s been really eye-opening and has helped me a lot with senior year.”

Stahley said audiences can look forward to entertaining music, dance and a strong message.

“We have some really great dance numbers and vocals, and this show has a lot of really great messages that audiences can look forward to,” Stahley said. “You can expect to leave feeling like you saw something valuable and have a new perspective on what it means to make a choice and where it can lead you. Even if you don’t trust the universe, hopefully you can learn to trust yourself and the decisions that you make.”

“If/Then” will be performed in the Hinman Commons at 8 p.m. on Nov. 21 and 22 and on Nov. 23 at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Tickets are $5 for students and $8 for general admission.

With music by Stephen Flaherty, lyrics by Lynn Ahrens and a book by Terrence McNally, “A Man of No Importance” follows Dublin bus driver Alfie Byrne in 1960s Ireland as he tries to put on a production of Oscar Wilde’s tragic play “Salome” with an amateur acting group at his local church.

Tommy Iafrate, director of the musical and an assistant professor of theatre at BU, said the production is a lesser-known show from famous writers, but the characters still have a lot of heart and meaning behind them.

“Within the show, there are people trying to make theatre to the best of their abilities, but that isn’t necessarily ‘high art,’” Iafrate said. “The characters think of themselves as artists and love the thought they put behind their work, but then when it comes to actually doing their things, it doesn’t all work out. That’s my thoughtful way of saying that they’re untalented, but they have fun playing with it.”

Throughout the musical, Alfie goes through a personal journey of accepting his homosexuality, and he finds himself falling for his best friend, Robbie. Gabriel Pinciotti, a senior majoring in theatre, plays the lead role of Alfie. He said Alfie’s vulnerability in some scenes, such as one where Robbie takes him to a pub and makes him sing without any instruments, signifies the struggles with acceptance Alfie goes through.

“It’s a very vulnerable and exposed scene, and every time we do it, I get so stressed out because [of] the concept of being brought out to a place you aren’t comfortable being, meeting people that you know nothing about and seem to have nothing in common with you and then having to sing for them,” Pinciotti said. “Moments like that terrify me in real life — being forced way out of your comfort zone. I began to realize how useful that was in playing Alfie, that difficulty of being out of your comfort zone is something we both struggle with, and the play ends up being about Alfie going as far out of his comfort zone as he’s ever gone.”

Iafrate said the musical focuses on the search for acceptance and a supportive community.

“It’s really fun to have this silly play production going along with some of the more serious scenes, but it’s about a chosen family of friends and those who love you,” Iafrate said. “There are still people today who feel like outsiders and because of who they are are kicked out of communities and look for a place of support and understanding.”

Pinciotti said he hopes the audience will enjoy the show as much as the actors do.

“I’m really hoping that students get invested in the story in the same way that we all get invested while performing it, because it’s such a heartwarming and emotionally affecting tale, and I want everyone to go on the ride with us,” Pinciotti said. “I also want people to learn about the love that comes from friends, that the people who truly care about you can be some of the most important people in a person’s life.”

“A Man of No Importance” will be performed at 8 p.m. on Nov. 15, 16, 22 and 23 and at 2 p.m on Nov. 24 in the Watters Theater in the Anderson Center. Tickets are $10 for students, $20 for adults and $16 for seniors.

The show premiered on Friday, Oct. 17, and will be hosting a combination of evening and matinee performances through Oct. 27 in the Studio A Theater.

Directed by Anne Brady, a professor of theatre, “The Wolves” centers around a high school travel team of nine 16-year-old girls. Each scene takes place on the soccer turf while the girls warm up in preparation for Saturday practice or games, taking the time to stretch and discuss various topics including Cambodian dictator Pol Pot, college recruitment and the most recent gossip about members on the team. Characters are not given names, and are instead only referred to by the numbers on their jerseys.

The play premiered in 2016 and was originally performed off-Broadway. Despite its high school characters and unconventional setting, “The Wolves” has attracted many college actors at BU. Kirsten Whistle, a senior majoring in theatre who portrays #13 in the play, found that “The Wolves” combined many of her favorite things.

“I was really excited that the show combined two things I really love — being part of a team and acting,” she said. “I played soccer in high school and was excited to experience what soccer onstage would be like.”

Christine Skorupa, a senior majoring in theatre who plays the role of #25, said “The Wolves” was one of her favorite contemporary plays that she has read so far.

“I auditioned for ‘The Wolves’ because I read the play over the summer and knew it was special … I saw myself and my high school experience in so many of the characters,” she said.

The University’s Mainstage production has impressively transformed the dark space of Studio A into an indoor soccer facility, complete with turf that covers the floor, risers for the audience to sit on and bright lights that mimic that of soccer field lamps. Though the set is thoroughly convincing of a soccer play, the characters also had to make sure they acted the part. Skorupa noted that familiarizing herself with the role of captain was a new experience.

“Preparing for this show was the most unique process I have ever participated in,” she said. “Doing soccer drills for about half of the time we were rehearsing or learning lines is something completely new to me. I haven’t seriously participated in sports before this show, so … A captain’s job was also a huge learning experience for me.”

In addition to learning difficult soccer drills, the characters also had their own individual struggles and story lines which the actors had to take on. With such a variety of personalities in the show, teamwork was an incredibly important skill for the actors, according to Whistle.

“Being in this show has reminded me of what it was like to be on a team,” she said. “That is what me and the actors in this show have become. I think that is my favorite part about it all.”

“The Wolves” has a much smaller cast and set than most Mainstage productions, but that doesn’t mean that it fails to pack a punch. Skorupa said it has something for everyone.

“Sports, theatre, contemporary issues, complex relationships, oranges, everything you can imagine in a nonstop, 90-minute marathon,” she said. “It will open your heart and I think anyone in the audience can find something they enjoy in this production.”

Lauren Metzdorff, stage manager for “The Wolves” and a sophomore majoring in English, said the show also has value that can be taken outside the theatre.

“A lot of shows about teenagers are full of cliches and aren’t relatable to the audiences,” she said. “The characters in this show feel like … people I could have gone to high school with instead of the caricatures I typically see onscreen. It’s a refreshing look [into] what it’s like to be a teenager that I wish I saw when I was a junior, like these characters are. I think everyone can benefit from seeing what it’s like to be a teen girl in the 2010s.”

“The Wolves” will be performed at 8 p.m. on Oct. 17, 18, 19, 23, 24, 25 and 26 and at 3 p.m. on Oct. 19, 26 and 27 in Studio A Theater in the Fine Arts Building. Tickets are $10 for students and $20 for adults, with limited seating available.

Dias, the play’s producer and a junior majoring in theatre, said she found the one-act play by Puerto Rican playwright Nelson-Diaz Marcano after searching online, and Chauca, the play’s producer and Dias’s high school friend, suggested the two collaborate on the show at INTAR Theatre, where he previously worked.

Dias said she was initially surprised that Chauca, a junior majoring in theatre at Hunter College, had so much confidence in the idea.

“At first I thought it was a crazy idea because no 20-year-old produces a show in New York City, when you’re still in college,” Dias said. “It’s unheard of.”

The theatre aims to support the work of Latinx artists and promote the idea of “theater arts without borders” — a mission that made it a good fit for a production of “Paper Towels,” which follows the journey of Toño, a man who seeks revenge after losing everything in Hurricane Maria and moving from Puerto Rico to New York City. The show has never been produced before, so Diaz-Marcano, who is based in New York City, came to rehearsal to advise the cast and crew.

Dias said the play emphasizes the effects of Hurricane Maria, and the U.S. government’s response to the crisis, on Toño’s mental health. She described it as “activism theatre” — when theatre is used “as an art form to inform an audience.”

“He wants to seek revenge for what he’s lost because he feels personally victimized by the current administration’s response to the crisis in Puerto Rico,” she said. “There’s a bunch of debate about gun control, mental health issues and what it means to be a person of color in the United States or in New York City.”

As the pair decided on a budget together and put plans in motion, Dias brought several Binghamton University students and alumni on board. LeeAnn Epstein, a junior majoring in theatre, John Knitter, a junior double-majoring in theatre and medieval studies, Emma Miller, a sophomore majoring in theatre and Natividad Guillen, a senior double-majoring in integrative neuroscience and environmental studies, have hands in the project as sound designer, stage manager, props master and cultural outreach coordinator, respectively. Alumni Jenna Brady, ‘19, Holden Gunster, ‘19 and Nicholas Coccaro, ‘17, have taken on the roles of assistant director, set designer and fight director.

The team held open auditions in New York City after securing the space at INTAR Theatre, with in-house rehearsals starting in early July. Dias handled most of the show’s preproduction paperwork during the spring semester, turning to BU’s theatre department for support. She also consulted Godfrey L. Simmons, Jr., a senior lecturer in Cornell University’s department of performing and media arts, who has directed two plays at BU.

Dias said her experiences working with Simmons on “Smart People” and “Baltimore” showed her a model of activism theatre that she hopes to emulate with “Paper Towels.”

“I’ve always loved theatre, and I’ve always felt I was an activist because I’ve always fought for something in my life, but in high school I had no idea how to put the two together,” Dias said. “I really found it when I worked on ‘Smart People’ freshman year at BU … I learned from the work of Simmons and from other black and brown playwrights who write about issues like this.”

As president of BU’s Diversity in Action committee, an outreach group that aims to diversify theatre at BU, Dias said BU has made progress in bringing multicultural issues to the stage.

“[Simmons] brings all that training in activism theatre to Binghamton and I think it’s really important for people working in our shows to have that specific training … We do have shows like ‘Baltimore,’ but we also have shows like ‘Guys and Dolls,’” she said. “I personally believe everyone in the department is trying to bring in as many diverse shows as we can, and we actually had a decent number of students of color on stage this past year.”

Dias plans on pursuing a career in activism theatre, and although members of the “Paper Towels” team have varied interests and specializations, she said everyone has shown a dedication to bringing the themes of the play to light.

“Every person I brought into this has a passion for activism and a drive to fight for justice, and I asked them to join the team because I knew they would help me spread awareness as opposed to just doing their jobs,” she said. “Everyone really put their heart into this show because it’s a show that I feel like all of us collectively believe in.”

“Paper Towels” will run Friday, Aug. 2 at 8 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 3 at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Sunday, Aug. 4 at 8 p.m. The show has a run time of approximately 45 minutes.

Tickets are $12 and can be purchased through the “Paper Towels” Facebook page or by searching “Paper Towels” on eventbee.com.

Written by Irish playwright Seamus Heaney in 2004, the play is an adaptation of the Sophocles play “Antigone” that features modern themes of political unrest and patriotism. Elizabeth Mozer, an associate professor of theatre at BU and director of the play, said although the play is based on a classic Greek story, it portrays problems that citizens under any form of government, especially women, may face.

“This is about a young woman speaking truth to power and standing up for what she believes in at all costs,” Mozer said. “She is courageous and what she does is risky. [It shows] the mistakes of people seizing power and not letting other people give wise counsel and the problems with that. We get to see ourselves in each character and we get to see what it’s like when someone is willing to stand up for what they believe in.”

“The Burial at Thebes” follows Antigone, daughter of the fallen king Oedipus of Thebes. After a war, her brother, Polyneices, is killed and her uncle, Creon, takes over as the new king of Thebes, where he orders that Polyneices will not be buried because he is a traitor. Despite this, Antigone decides to bury her brother. The play shows why Antigone decides to go against the order and the consequences both she and Creon face because of Creon’s law.

Kyanna Lebron, a sophomore majoring in integrative neuroscience, will play Antigone in her first Mainstage production. She said the play emphasizes the importance of family and self-confidence.

“Antigone is seen as a tough character, but she has a softness that cares for others,” Lebron said. “This play shows off the family and the passion that [she has] for burying her brother. There’s a message of standing up for what’s right and following your beliefs. Even though there are a lot of tragic events that happen, it just emphasizes the message.”

Creon is played by Connor Brannigan, a freshman double-majoring in theatre and English. He said no character in the show is completely evil, but the decisions they make have dire consequences.

“The hardest part about playing Creon wasn’t the intensity, but the sensitivity and the pain that he goes through,” he said. “Those are hard things to experience and inhabit. The play is very alive and human. It’s a story that’s been told and retold many, many times and there’s a reason for that — it’s because people see themselves in the characters.”

While the play takes place in fifth-century Greece, Mozer said the play also parallels our current political situation by exploring themes like patriotism and faith in leadership.

“Our current government situation has some similarities, especially between Creon and Trump,” Mozer said. “Creon even says ‘fake truths’ in the play, which is similar to how Trump says ‘fake news.’ He has his own idea and because he won’t listen to any one else’s advice, those who are on his side and have his best interests in mind, terrible things happen.”

“The Burial at Thebes” will be opening its doors at 8 p.m. this Friday at the Watters Theater in the Anderson Center. For opening night, student admission will be discounted to $5 — a deal that is only available at the Anderson Center box office. Performances will take place again on April 27 and May 3 at 8 p.m. and on April 28 and May 5 at 2 p.m. Student tickets will be $10.

“Seascape with Sharks and Dancer,” written by playwright Don Nigro, is a romantic drama with comedic elements. It tells the story of two imperfect strangers, Ben and Tracy, who meet when Ben rescues Tracy from drowning in the ocean and brings her back to safety in his seaside home. Over the course of the night and morning that follow, their rival personalities come to literal and metaphorical blows, but their abrasive chemistry leads to a connection that helps two lonely people feel a little less alone.

Samantha Goss, a junior majoring in theatre, is the director of this production. She said part of her motivation for picking the script came from a desire to push her boundaries as a director and prepare herself for future projects.

“You don’t always get to pick the scripts you work with out in the real world, so I wanted to find a script that did have challenges to it,” Goss said. “The blood and the costume that she’s wearing, it was a very complicated thing to get it to look like that.”

Discussing the difficulties of the production, Goss stated that the rushed timeline for rehearsal was an added challenge to an already difficult show.

“As far as the rehearsal period went, we had three and a half weeks, including tech, so that was terrifying,” Goss said. “We had a week before spring break, and then we came back and we had two weeks and then into tech, which was kind of crazy.”

Brianna Simpkins, a senior majoring in political science who plays Tracy, emphasized the realism of the play and praised its characters for their authenticity.

“The idea of theatre I feel like a lot of people have in their head is a lot of bells and whistles, and they forget that in every piece of theatre you can find some kind of truthful element to it,” Simpkins said. “This is on the more truthful end of theatre.”

Aaron Penzel, a senior double-majoring in theatre and business administration, plays the character of Ben. When asked what the play offers to the student body who might be interested in seeing it, he said the script’s success in presenting a genuine human connection

“I think that this is a really good representation of what people are,” Penzel said. “There’s shifts in the show, there’s different wants, there’s different needs, there’s tug back and forth. You get close just to pull away, which is what we do as people.”

“See it because it’s real,” Simpkins added.

The second play, “You Belong To Me,” is a surrealist dark comedy with all emphasis on the dark. Written by playwright Keith Reddin, it portrays inexplicable violent thoughts that work their way into a person’s psyche, with each scene other than the final one featuring the same three characters in imagined murders. Characters take turns being the victim and the killer or killers as the play contemplates a variety of ways that an ostensibly happy marriage and friendship could take the darkest turn possible.

The play is directed by Jenna Brady, a senior double-majoring in cinema and theatre. She said that while trying to choose the one-act play she would direct, she came across the script at the last hour and fell for its unconventional nature.

“I think part of what drew me into it was that when I first read it, I was like, ‘What is going on?’” Brady said. “It’s very surreal and a bit absurd.”

Gabriel Pinciotti, a junior majoring in theatre who plays the character of Larry, said he thinks that the rehearsal process has helped the cast and crew become more collective in their vision of the production.

“We all went from having preconceived notions of what the show should be and then all coming together on one joint idea that everybody agrees with,” Pinciotti said.

Brady echoed this sentiment and stressed the role that a cooperative atmosphere played in helping her vision come to life.

“It was really fun to direct because, especially as a student working with a bunch of other students, it was just a really collaborative environment,” Brady said. “I had an amazing cast and crew, and we were just a bunch of passionate students who wanted to make something great, and really be able to make it ourselves.”

“In The Works” will run at 8 p.m. from Thursday, April 11 to Sunday, April 14 in Studio A Theater for “You Belong To Me” (FA 192) and Studio B Theater for “Seascape with Sharks and Dancer” (FA 196). It will cost $4 at the door to see both shows.

Written by Kirsten Greenidge, “Baltimore” takes place in an unnamed university in the Northeast during the beginning of the fall semester. When a student plasters a racist and hateful image onto another student’s door, the entire campus erupts as it is forced to confront a side of society that many often prefer to sweep under the rug. At the center of the action is Shelby, an African American resident assistant who works in the dorm where the incident takes place. The dramedy balances heavy themes of contemporary racism with comedic moments sprinkled throughout its one hour and 40-minute run time.

Godfrey L. Simmons, Jr., director of the show and a senior lecturer in Cornell’s department of performing and media arts, emphasized the timeliness of the Mainstage production. He said the events of the play are especially relevant in the wake of similar racist incidents at the University, including racist drawings that were found in Newing College in 2017.

“I just think it’s a really great play for this age,” he said. “I think it demands so much from the students, and they have to really get authentic because they’re dealing with the issues that happen in the play right now in their lives. ”

According to co-assistant director Cindy Dias, a sophomore majoring in theatre, Simmons pays extensive attention to viewpoints from nearly every side of the production.

“He’s not like any other director I’ve worked with before,” she said. “He wants to make sure that everybody feels that their stamp is left on the production. It’s just a very supportive environment.”

It’s this supportive environment that has allowed the cast of “Baltimore” to flourish within their roles and bust out remarkable performances. Robert Edwards, a senior majoring in theatre, portrays Bryant, a college freshman trying to stay neutral within the politically charged atmosphere of his college campus. He said that he felt passionately obligated to take part in this show. When asked if his politically progressive mindset conflicted with tapping into the character of the neutral Bryant, Edwards said he chose to approach the role from its core.

“Being a black man and coming into college is something I have experienced, so going in through that lens helped me get into it,” Edwards said.

Savannah Young, an actress in the show and a freshman majoring in biology, said she finds excitement in how “Baltimore” aims to challenge the audience with difficult questions.

“I see this role as a duty for this campus and for myself to perform and relay this message to everyone,” she said.

Simmons said that the roles in “Baltimore” are roles actors usually don’t get to play as students.

“It’s very rare that you get to play this kind of role at the college that you’re going to,” he said. “[The actors] get to lean on their experience, but at the same time, they challenge themselves to really bring their full selves to the play.”

Baltimore will be opening its doors this Friday, March 1, at 7:30 p.m. on campus at the Watters Theater in the Anderson Center. For opening night, the price for admission for students will be discounted to $5. This deal is only available at the Watters Theater Box Office. Other performances include 8 p.m. showings on March 2, 8 and 9 and a 2 p.m. showing on March 10.

“The Vagina Monologues” is a 1996 play written by Eve Ensler that discusses vaginas and everything about them through a series of monologues based on real-life interviews with women of various ages, sexualities, races and backgrounds. The play discusses vagina-related topics like body image, femininity, sexual experiences, rape, female genital mutilation and sexuality.

The Dickinson Community Players perform “The Vagina Monologues” every year during the month of February, and the proceeds from the show go to RISE, a local women’s shelter. The characters of the play include a 72-year-old woman experiencing an orgasm for the first time, a grown woman struggling to find her clitoris during a “vagina workshop” and a transgender woman embracing her femininity. For many of the episodes, a single actress was onstage by herself for up to 20 minutes, reciting and retelling a true narrative as if she herself were the woman being interviewed. The monologues were emotionally charged and engaging, sometimes entertaining and comedic and other times shocking and disturbing.

Bella Martinez, an actress in the show and a freshman majoring in business administration, said “The Vagina Monologues” brings audiences face-to-face with the uncomfortable topics of women’s health.

“My favorite aspect of the show is that it brings up a very taboo subject in our culture,” Martinez said. “It forces the audience to feel a bit uncomfortable for a few minutes but that works to help break that taboo feeling down. I love that ‘The Vagina Monologues’ is all about women empowering other women and encouraging women to take charge and embrace who they are.”

Chetna Khunteta, director of the show and a freshman majoring in psychology, said she liked the fact that the show is based on interviews with real women and their experiences.

“My favorite aspect of the show is the amount of emotion that the actresses conveyed in their message,” Khunteta said.

The cast rehearsed for a couple of weeks; rehearsals for the show were unique because it was a monologue series. Rehearsals consisted of no more than five people at a time.

“Rehearsals were a little different for this show since it was a monologue series,” Martinez said. “We all came in with our monologue groups [and] practiced and performed them for the director and assistant directors who gave us notes on how to improve the performance and develop our monologue.”

According to Khunteta, the hard work each performer put into rehearsals ultimately paid off.

“The actresses worked tirelessly for a short time of three weeks and managed to perfect and perform their monologues with elegance, confidence and class,” Khunteta said.

“Being a part of ‘The Vagina Monologues’ was an amazing experience that gave me new confidence in ways I did not know I needed,” Martinez said. “It felt really powerful to be part of such an amazing show and have the ability to give back to other women in need and help them get to where they need to be.”

This past weekend, audiences were swinging through the land of sweets and walking in two-steps as the Watters Theater in the Anderson Center was transformed into a winter wonderland for “Jazz Nutcracker.”

“Jazz Nutcracker” is an original dance production performed annually from the Binghamton University theatre department. It features both students and local youth dancers and a variety of dances, including jazz, swing, tap, ballet, modern, ballroom and acrobatics.

The production was directed and choreographed by JoEllen Kuhlman, an adjunct lecturer of theatre at BU. She created “Jazz Nutcracker” when she was in college and decided to remake it here.

“We wanted to make a show that got students excited for the holidays, but in a brand new way,” Kuhlman said. “Jazz is much more upbeat, but it still puts the audience in that holiday mood.”

The story follows Clara, a young girl who gets a nutcracker from her grandfather, Drosselmeyer, for Christmas. When all the kids go to sleep, the Nutcracker comes to life and turns into a charming prince, taking Clara through an enchanted land of sweets on Christmas Day.

The production is an adaptation of “The Nutcracker” ballet, originally choreographed by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov with a score by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, which was itself adapted from the short story “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King” written by E. T. A. Hoffmann in 1816.

Rachel Russo, stage manager for “Jazz Nutcracker” and a junior double-majoring in electrical engineering and theatre, explained how a few things were changed to the story.

“We made minor changes, such as adding an assistant to Drosselmeyer and, of course, changing the choreography up for every scene,” Russo said. “But the land of sweets is still the land of sweets and Clara is still Clara. It’s just a fun twist on a classic story.”

The production included a real magician, David Black, who plays Drosselmeyer. Kuhlman included Black in the show after working with him before and hoping an actual magician’s performance would add to the festive mood of the show.

“The magic has added another layer to the show,” Black said. “I don’t get to work with ensembles a lot, let alone dance productions, but this show was worth it. I hope the audience feels delight and joy through all the bright visuals, dance moves and different styles of music that add to it.”

The setting featured a festive and warm household that quickly transformed into a mythical winter wonderland with a battle against evil mice that soon led them to the bright and colorful land of sweets.

“We want the audience to feel like they’ve been swept off their feet to a new part of this magical, mythical world at every scene,” said Abigail Calandra, who plays Clara and is a junior double-majoring in English and theatre. “The ‘Waltz of the Snowflakes’ at the end of Act 1 is one of the most serene and beautiful scenes of the whole show, but before that, there’s a battle scene where there’s a lot of tension. But then Act 2 opens up into the cheerful land of sweets, which puts everyone in a good mood.”

The cast also featured a wide variety of dancers, including children from the Binghamton area. Evan Lapp, who plays the Nutcracker, is a senior at Johnson City High School who got the lead role after auditioning. He and his little sister were both featured in the production.

“The show quickly lifted me up and put me into the holiday spirit,” Lapp said. “It was hard to keep up with the college students at times, but the production has been so much fun and I hope the audience appreciates our hard work.”

The students and faculty involved in the show hoped everyone got into the holiday spirit after watching the show, especially with finals coming up.

“This time of year can be incredibly stressful, with all these tests and all the money put into the holidays,” Calandra said. “I want everyone to escape a little and appreciate the holidays as a time to enjoy [themselves].”

As opening night draws closer, the atmosphere at HPC’s dress rehearsal is one of excitement, energy and focus. According to Sophie Cohen, a sophomore double-majoring in integrative neuroscience and Spanish, HPC has been rehearsing “Into the Woods” for the past two and a half months, with initial planning beginning last semester.

Assistant Director Daniel Stark, a sophomore majoring in mechanical engineering, said this production would be especially ambitious.

“This is the biggest scope of a show HPC has ever done,” he said. “It’s the perfect challenge that I really think we needed right now.”

Brian Schwartz, who plays the Baker and is a senior majoring in accounting, stated that HPC voted on performing “Into the Woods” at its pitch meeting last semester.

“A lot of us were really passionate about ‘Into the Woods,’ especially because it’s more of an ambitious production than what HPC usually does,” he said. “We were excited to take on that challenge as actors and directors.”

One of the greatest challenges in producing the musical is the difficulty of executing Stephen Sondheim’s difficult score.

“There are a lot of complicated rhythms and tempos, harmonies and music,” Cohen said.

In addition to challenging music, “Into the Woods” features five different interrelated storylines with a variety of characters. HPC tackled this challenge by double- and triple-casting most of the cast members. For example, Cohen plays the roles of Cinderella’s stepmother, Little Red Riding Hood’s grandmother and the birds.

“The way the show is set up, it’s not one scene with a bunch of characters, it’s a bunch of vignettes all at the same time,” Schwartz said.

HPC’s production of “Into the Woods” sets itself apart from those of other theatre groups with its more interpretive and abstract set. Instead of the traditional and more literal “Into the Woods” set, which features trees and houses, HPC took the creative liberty to use mobile wooden staircases to represent the woods and various other settings in the show. The idea for this set originated from the show’s limited budget.

“Normally, this is a show that’s done in a big theater with a lot of space and money, and we simply don’t have the budget to build a gigantic set,” Stark said. “Our director, Anna Rizzotti, took this as an opportunity for a more creative and interactive set design.”

Rizzotti, a senior majoring in mathematics, said she wanted to creatively reimagine the set with these limitations in mind.

“I wanted to design a set that conveys the ever-shifting nature of the woods that was within our budget and logistical capabilities, while helping the story move along,” she said. “It was really cool to see what was once a creative vision come to life.”

Rizzotti said that the show adds life to the characters we grow up with and shows that they, too, are only human.

“The show ends with Cinderella saying ‘I wish’ after all her dreams have been fulfilled, but there’s still a constant want for more and constant dissatisfaction,” she said. “This is something that really hits home for me as I enter the job search senior year.”

The HPC will be performing its rendition of “Into the Woods” at 8 p.m., Nov. 15, 16 and 17, as well as an additional performance at 2 p.m. on Nov. 17. Tickets will be sold at the door for $5.

The production is directed by Anne Brady, a professor of theatre and head of acting/directing at BU, who said that she chose the musical for the Mainstage because of its timelessness.

“We wanted to look at what kind of musical would be good for our students, and also good for the audience, and ‘Guys and Dolls’ has been said to be one of the almost perfect musicals with a wide variety,” Brady said.

“Guys and Dolls” centers around the lives and habits of those living in New York City during the postwar era of 1949. Nathan Detroit, a con man, in hopes of finding money to house his illegal gambling habits, makes a deal with a high-rolling gambler, Sky Masterson. If Sky agrees to a bet he will surely lose, Nathan secures the solution to his funding dilemma. Nathan is sure that any doll he chooses would go on a date in Havana, Cuba with Sky — unless that “doll” was uptight Sergeant Sarah Brown, head of the Save-a-Soul Mission. Whether Sky manages to accomplish the impossible depends on a few things, but no one ever accounts for hearts getting caught in the crossfire.

The production is adapted by short stories written by Damon Runyon, a writer in the ’20s and ’30s who was familiar with the workings of things like Broadway and nightlife in the city.

“It’s a time of optimism, a time where people, post-World War II, were about,” said David Wynen, choreographer for the production and an assistant professor of theatre. “There’s a lot of action happening in Times Square at that time. You have pop culture starting to happen because it’s the first time there is disposable income for the youth.”

The production features bold colors and songs that echo the heat and energy buzzing around the city. Huge signs hang in the backdrop and clue the audience into the livelihood of the 1940s.

“I want [the audience] to feel like they’ve been transported back to this period because I feel like we have a lot of vibrant colors and big set pieces,” said Lauren Metzdorff, an assistant stage manager and a junior majoring in English. “I want them to feel like they’re in New York City, or they’re in Havana, especially since so many people have actually been in the city. Now I want them to feel like they’re there — but in a different time.”

Sidney Slon/Staff Photographer
“Guys and Dolls” takes the Watters Theater back in time to 1949 through classic songs and dance.

The process of bringing a work like “Guys and Dolls” to life can be challenging at times, making its actors and crew work hard to make the production a success. The research into the lifestyle and gender roles during that specific time period was essential to creating authenticity and appreciating plays taking place in different eras.

“With ‘Guys and Dolls,’ and a lot of musicals from this time period, a lot of productions nowadays tend to label them as a comedy, and that there’s no deep character development,” said Greg DeCola, a junior majoring in theatre who plays Nathan. “But our director has done a great job making everyone delve into this world. It’s a comedy, it’s very funny, but it’s funny because of the characters and the people that are in it, as opposed to the show itself.”

Wynen explained that the overall development of the style and dance reflected the remnants of “old-world Broadway.” The choreography and acting complement each other to create a personable atmosphere where the audience can feel the energy from what’s happening on stage.

“There’s a lot of soldiers and sailors,” Wynen said. “I tried to go with the choreography to bring about that change of an era — we’re on the edge of the last of the gangsters and the last of the vaudevillians here, and it’s all about to change.”

One of the biggest contributing factors for deciding to bring “Guys and Dolls” to life was the combination of beautiful songs and the different possibilities for dance numbers. This decision was also about bringing bigger changes to the BU campus: the development of a bachelor’s in fine arts in musical theatre.

“We want to encourage dancers, as well as actors and singers, to be part of the program,” Brady said. “And having a large cast also offers opportunities to as many people as possible.”

The audience will appreciate the atmosphere and magic production’s cast creates, drawing a level of authenticity with well-delivered New York accents and dramatic tensions artfully cut with musical entertainment. The underlying themes of love and conflict help make the musical memorable.

“Some of the themes are a little outdated,” said Brenda Darcy, who plays Adelaide and is a senior double-majoring in theatre and English. “There’s a little misogyny and a little sexism, but what we’re trying to do is turn it into something relatable. People from two different worlds meeting and falling in love, and I think that forbidden love is such a universal theme, which happens a lot in life.”

The students and faculty who put the show together worked hours and days of nonstop rehearsal to create a show that has a little something for everyone.

“This is such a joyous production,” said Christine Skorupa, a junior majoring in theatre who plays Sarah Brown. “I want the audience to enjoy their time here, to go away singing the songs, getting them stuck in their [heads] and having a good time. I want them to see how passionate people can be. It’s just a really fun show.”

Based on Agatha Christie’s 1939 eponymous novel, this semester’s play put on by the student-run group is a thriller-drama centered around various figures that all embark on a voyage to an island. Believing they are there for a myriad of reasons like a vacation or for work purposes, suspense and conflict unfold as the characters discover the mysteries behind their journey.

With this show, the directors hope to encompass the spirit of DCP.

“This play seemed very DCP, especially because we enjoy doing spooky shows and we also always love to inject humor where you don’t usually find it,” said Mikayla Guida, one of the co-directors of this year’s show and a senior majoring in English.

“And Then There Were None” has been a joy for the cast members to manufacture this semester, as they have been working three times a week since September.

Chloe Niemann, an undeclared freshman, plays Emily Brent, a religious passenger. As this is her first college performance, Niemann has been learning the differences in production in a college setting as opposed to high school.

“It’s been a ton of fun going through production for the show,” Niemann said. “I’ve been learning to get accustomed to student directors as opposed to high school, where we worked with professional directors.”

That said, putting on the production for the show has not been without its struggles. The cast has had to juggle its scheduling and commit to a time everyone was available to rehearse together at the same time. The group operates with a small budget, as well as a smaller cast one might not normally see at a Binghamton University theatre department Mainstage production.

“Really the only conflict has been getting everyone on the same page, as everyone isn’t a theatre major, but everyone has a passion for the show so it sort of mitigates any issues,” Guida said.

Despite any setbacks, the cast has been working together to produce a polished show. According to Niemann, each member, regardless of the importance of their role, is a key contributor to the final product.

“Every person brings something to the show, as the show is only as strong as its weakest link,” Niemann said. “It doesn’t matter if you’re a small role or the main character — you still have a big impact on the show. I’ve seen actors who totally steal the show despite playing a small role because of what they bring to the show.”

With a small operation, DCP manages to produce two shows per semester. Last year, the organization produced its 13th annual “Vagina Monologues,” an anthological play on feminism and women sharing their sexual experiences. The funds for the “Vagina Monologues” also went toward a local shelter for victims of child abuse. Its spring lineup featured “The Great Gatsby,” based on the classic novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

The show is being performed Nov. 2 at 8 p.m., Nov. 3 at 2 p.m. and at 8 p.m in the Multipurpose Room in the Chenango Champlain Collegiate Center.