In four sold-out shows of song, dance and looking back on college journeys, Bachelor of Fine Arts in Music Theatre students performed together in Grand Night — a collage of performances that showcased the program’s talents — on April 5 and 6 in Elon University’s Roberts Studio Theatre.
Students directed, music directed and choreographed 15 numbers across many genres, from the peppy “Cruisin’ for a Bruisin’” from “Teen Beach Movie” to the classic “I Love a Piano” from “White Christmas” to the fiery “Buenos Aires” from “Evita.”
Caroline Borio, assistant student director and senior performer, said everyone always looks forward to doing their senior class number, which this year was “A Little More Homework” from “13.”
“It’s a really meaningful song,” Borio said. “It’s about recognizing that we’re not done, we’re just moving on to the next step.”
Borio and fellow senior Zeth Dixon delivered speeches, recognizing professors who made impacts on them and recounting their journeys at Elon.
Many seniors were emotional during the finale, “I Will Turn To You,” written by Elon alumni Dan Gibson ‘09 and Christopher Staskel ‘09 and performed for 15 years by all Music Theatre students. Assistant Professor of Music Theatre Courtney Liu, who managed Grand Night with Guest Instructor Jane Lanier, called it a “real tear-jerker.”
“This class has a kind of gentleness and kindness and understanding that I think has really trickled out through the entire program, and I really felt that in their number,” Liu said. “That’s like the ‘I might cry’ part.”
Prospective students were invited to attend a dress rehearsal and talk to music theatre students about their Elon experience. On April 7, the performers took the show to Well-Spring Retirement Community in Greensboro.
“I’m just so excited that we’re bringing this out into the community,” Borio said. “It’s so easy to get wrapped in our little bubble of being on campus and just performing for fellow students.”
According to Liu, students brainstormed ideas for Grand Night’s numbers throughout the fall semester. Rehearsals for the numbers Liu selected to be in the performance started mid-February, and after spring break, they rehearsed four hours every night up until the show dates on April 5 and 6.
“Since we all want this show to be great,” Borio said, “it’s not that hard to get people to push through the exhaustion and any frustrating moments and come together to work hard and make this happen.”
This was the first time Grand Night was performed in the Roberts Studio Theatre, which has audience seats on two sides of the stage for a tennis-court setting. Freshman performer George Zemla said the event presented challenges, but with collaboration, they were able to overcome them.
“Everyone pitched in their own ideas, and with some work, it turned out to be all good,” Zemla said.
This year students were encouraged to explore learning or advancing their skills with musical instruments, and Zemla was one of a small group of performers who played instruments during the show, his being the banjo.
This year Liu added the element of leadership development training during the fall semester to help empower students and equip them with the necessary skills to direct their own numbers for Grand Night. She said it made for smoother conflict management.
“It’s not like it’s all going to be peachy keen,” Liu said. “You’re going to have disagreements with the creative team and with your cast. But generally, everyone is moving together towards a goal and everyone has a certain kind of care for everyone else’s humanity in the space while we’re working towards putting together the biggest, brightest, clearest vision of the number that we can.”