Students of Saint Louis University’s Theatre Department have paired with Alpha Psi Omega, the National Honorary Theatre Society, to present All That Jazz: An Evening of Kander and Ebb.
This musical revue is completely student run, from the actors to the director. While junior and director Anita Shastri has been performing since she was two years old, she is fairly new to directing.
“I’ve always wanted to do some work directing, and I thought this was the perfect opportunity,” Shastri said.
She sat down with APO President Erin Almand and the chair of the Department of Fine and Performing Arts Gary Barker to pick the show they thought would be best.
In the end, they came up with a musical revue of the music of Kander and Ebb. This duo has written music for shows such as Chicago and Cabaret.
“Kander and Ebb are two of the greatest songwriters that musical theatre has ever had…Their shows tend to be a bit darker, dealing with more issues of sex, drugs, alcohol, love, lost love and pain, which is a nice break from the normal bright, bubbly, excitement that is normal musical theatre,” Shastri said.
The theatre department will be putting on Cabaret in November, and, according to Shastri, they felt that this revue would be a great teaser for the musical.
The revue will be a grouping of songs that are connected by the theme of Kander and Ebb.
In a musical, there is a script and different characters. However, in a revue there are no named characters and no script.There is no plotline, the songs are just connected by a common theme, in this case, songs by the same composers.
“When you do a revue you surprise people with the songs you do,” Amburgey said.
In order to prepare for the show, they picked songs that people would know, as well as some unfamiliar songs that they felt people might like.
“Their shows can be performed for any generation and be loved. No matter what they write it is bound to be loved,” Shastri said.
The cast has been rehearsing for the past two weeks for two to three hours a day. On the weekends, they have been practicing for four to fivehours.
“We have all worked really hard to put this show together. And the cast is always giving me their best, so [the show] will be great,” Shastri said.
The cast is made up of nine members: three men and six women.
Senior Peter Hasser explained that one of his favorite parts of this experience has been the cast dynamic.
“We all have an equivalent role in the show…we all go in and out of being a soloist,” sophomore theatre major Mollie Amburgey said.
The revue will take place on Sept. 17 and 18 in the Xavier Hall Studio Theatre. There will be two showings each day at 7 p.m. and at 9 p.m. Admission is free; donations will be accepted.
