Students from the Musical Theater Workshop at the University of Rochester will perform stage favorites in a show titled “A New World!” at 7 p.m., Friday, May 1 and Saturday, May 2, in Lower Strong Auditorium on the River Campus. The showcase is free and open to the public.
The revue is a culmination of a semester-long course in a two level workshop series through the University’s college music department in acting and singing for 14 undergraduate and graduate students.
“The showcase features the best material performed throughout the semester,” said Kim Kowalke, the Richard L. Turner Professor of Humanities in the music department and musical director of the show. “This year’s theme focuses on how the world goes round and looks at life and love through the works of luminaries like Rodgers & Hammerstein and Stephen Sondheim.”
Kowalke, and noted Rochester director David Runzo, began teaching the musical theater workshop on the River Campus in 1987. The course is currently taught every other spring and requires students to audition. In addition to theatre training exercises and performing assignments used at the Academy of Fine Arts in Berlin, this year’s students had the opportunity to meet six-time Tony Award-winning actress Audra McDonald when she performed in Rochester in January with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra.
A New World! will feature fast-paced performances of many favorite musicals including Man of La Mancha and Aladdin. For more information, contact the Department of Music at (585) 275-9397.
