Comedy fine-tuned in UM’s ‘Broadway Nights’

ORONO – The University of Maine School of Performing Arts theater division will offer “Broadway Nights,” an uplifting comedic musical review, at 7:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday, March 24-25, at Minsky Recital Hall on the Orono campus.

The student production, directed by Sandra Hardy, associate professor of theater, and co-produced by students Anne Schmidt and Janis Greim, features a repertoire of energetic hit songs from 10 popular Broadway musicals.

Nearly a dozen students will sing solos, duets and choruses from the shows “Avenue Q,” “Anything Goes,” “I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change,” “Jekyll and Hyde,” “Annie Get Your Gun,” “The Wild Party,” “Smokey Joe’s Cafe,” “Company,” “A Chorus Line” and “Wicked.”

“All of these songs have a comedic theme,” said Schmidt of Thorndike, and who is studying for a master’s degree in higher education and student development. “It’s very upbeat. Chipper. We’re trying to make it as funny as possible. We want people to laugh.”

Schmidt said the idea behind the theme of this year’s musical review was to present a lighthearted show that allows students to perform show tunes that they normally would not have a chance to sing in many of the regular season performances. Also, the majority of this year’s theatrical productions have been serious or dark productions.

“We wanted to add some comedy to this year’s lineup of drama,” she said.

Cast members include Brian Milakovsky, Dominick Varney, HansStefan Ducharme, Jason Wilkes, Matthew Small, Crystal McArthur, Maida Cordero, Sara Richardson, Michael Thayer, Schmidt and Greim.

Minsky Recital Hall is in the Class of 1944 Hall next to the Maine Center for the Arts. Information about tickets is available by calling the box office at 581-3756. Admission is $5, except for UMaine students, who get in free with a MaineCard.