FORT KENT – Even the most forward-thinking visionary could be forgiven for not predicting what three 21st century professors have come up with to celebrate the campus’s 125th anniversary, marking its evolution from the Madawaska Training School founded in 1878 to the University of Maine at Fort Kent.

Charles Closser, professor of oral communication and performing arts, wrote the script and lyrics while Scott Brickman, associate professor of music, composed the score and songs for “UMFK 125: The Musical,” being staged at 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, April 22-24, in Fox Auditorium. Joe Zubrick, associate professor of theater and communication, designed the sets and worked on the dialogue and choreography.

“UMFK 125: The Musical” traces UMFK’s history in the St. John Valley. The story line follows a new student, Donatelo Deadhead who, along with his parents, receives a special historical tour of the campus courtesy of the spirit Acadianna Bengalis.

From a rap song about local flooding to a tongue-in-cheek look at former Madawaska Training School Principal Mary Nowland titled “Reefer in the Rafters,” “UMFK 125” incorporates many different musical styles and genres, something the creators see as fitting for a campus that has meant so many things to so many people over the years.

“More than anything else this musical is a reaffirmation of the importance of this campus to the area and of the area to this campus,” Closser reflected last week during a break between classes and rehearsals. “This is a school so tied to this place it is inconceivable to think of it any other way.”

That sentiment, Closser said, intensified in recent weeks with the release of the University of Maine System draft strategic plan suggesting, among other things, combining UMFK with the Presque Isle and Machias campuses to create a “University of Northern Maine.”

“It’s so ironic,” Closser said. “In researching UMFK, we see two centuries ago its leaders found out it does not work having a campus split between two or more towns, and it still won’t work. Now we’re fighting that battle all over again.”

At one time, UMaine had campuses in Van Buren and Madawaska before centralizing in Fort Kent. In addition, the campus has been through five names starting with its inception as the Madawaska Training School to what is now UMFK.

Along the way, UMFK has had its share of characters and situations, which made for ample theatrical material.

Closser and Brickman began by reviewing “UMFK: A Century of Progress,” written by former professor Roger Grindle for the school’s centennial. From there, the two moved on to collecting stories from a variety of sources.

“It was amazing how many people had tales to tell,” Closser said. “We finally just had to say, ‘Stop. No more.'” Once Closser had completed the script and lyrics, he handed them off to Brickman to add the musical score.

It was a collaboration in the spirit of Rodgers and Hammerstein or Gilbert and Sullivan.

“A lot of the time, I would play the music and Chuck [Closser] would get that paternal look on his face and say, ‘It’s good, but …'” Brickman said. “We really had a lot of fun doing this.”

For his part, Closser said his colleague had an uncanny ability to create the perfect music to accompany his lyrics.

“Scott really is a genius,” Closser said. “He found an incredible melodic pattern to go along with my words; it’s like he was reading my mind.”

The musical boasts 14 original songs and music created by the duo in addition to several dance numbers. The songs and music range widely in style from Greek chorus to rock ‘n’ roll.

Giving a sense of place is what Joe Zubrick sought to achieve in the set design.

“This has really been an exciting project,” he said. “The people involved are not only learning a lot about this campus but they are having a good time, too.”

In addition to reading historical accounts and conducting interviews, Brickman said he took the time to personally immerse himself in UMFK history.

“I don’t believe in ghosts,” he said. “But I would walk around the campus and get to imagining what it was like here when the buildings that don’t exist anymore were here and what it might have been like for those students in the 1800s.”

The musical is rife with inside jokes.

“You don’t need that inside information to fully enjoy the production,” Closser stressed. “Still, there are some parts some people are going to find really, really humorous.”

Not to mention educational. After all, how many know that Mary Nowland, the second principal of the Madawaska Training School, whose somewhat stern countenance peers down from a portrait in the dining hall, was a closet smoker who rolled her own cigarettes?

Or that former UMFK president Richard Crocker maintained a viable victory garden on the campus during World War II?

Or the significance of canned seafood on the UMFK campus?

Regardless, Closser and Brickman said, it’s all in good fun.

“This [musical] is not meant to be malicious, a political statement or a get-even commentary,” Closser said. “What it is about is 125 years of history of a hell of a great place to be.”

For ticket information, call 834-7557. Julia Bayly can be reached at bayly@sjv.net.