Students from the Musical Theater Workshop at the University of Rochester will perform stage favorites in a show entitled "Romberg to Rent: A Broadway Revue" at 8:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday, April 30 and May 1, in Lower Strong Auditorium on the River Campus.
The performance will start with selections from the 1920s and will feature many luminaries of the century including Cole Porter, George Gershwin, Rodgers & Hammerstein, Kurt Weill, Stephen Sondheim, and Andrew Lloyd Webber. The finale will feature two numbers from Rent, the current rock adaptation of the opera La Boheme.
The revue culminates an intensive semester-long course in acting and singing for the musical theater class. The performance will showcase 17 undergraduate students from the College and the Eastman School of Music in 35 numbers from the American musical theater.
The class is taught by noted Rochester director David Runzo and Kim Kowalke, professor of music and musical director of the production. The two have been teaching the course at the University since 1987 and they consider this to be "the most talented and hardworking group of students" they've worked with so far.
The evening will be fast-paced and will take the audience through many favorite musicals. Featured shows will include South Pacific, Guys and Dolls, The Desert Song, Carousel, Grease, Company, Most Happy Fella, and Fiddler on the Roof.
The performance is free and open to the public. For more information, contact the University of Rochester College Music Program at (585) 275-2828. To request any special accommodations, please call the Music Program at least five days in advance, or fax at (585) 442-5345.