After a week full of midterm exams, the school of Visual and Performing Arts gave students some comedic relief last Thursday.
“Comedy Tonight” showcased operas in a much different light using physical comedy, word play and some truly crazy characters. The show was performed in Emy-Lou Biedenharn Recital Hall.
The show consisted of seven different operas performed by 17 students studying music. Mark Clark, associate professor of music, said the performers were music education, vocal performance or theater performance majors.
Dr. Clark said people conclude that opera is when the soprano dies in the end. Carrie Arnold, a junior pre-medical laboratory science major, attended the opera for class participation and said she was surprised opera could be so entertaining.
“It kept my attention the whole time; it was great. I would love to come to another comedic performance. My favorite scenes were from ‘Man of La Mancha and The Last Five Years,’” Arnold said.
Dr. Clark said the students have been working on this production since the beginning of the semester. From assigning pieces to learning the music, learning their characters and staging the scenes- it was worth the hard work.
“I chose comedy because of an article in the Hawkeye when they reviewed ‘The Old Maid and the Thief.’ The students enjoyed the comedy so we decided to do one again this semester,” said Clark.
The students making up the cast were also warming up for this weekend’s National Association of Teachers of Singing competition.
The cast was happy to take a break from their usual classical repertoire to have a few laughs with their friends. One of the leading funny men, Orlandzeo Hennings, a vocal performance major, said he always enjoys being on stage with friends, especially when comedy is involved.
The cast had to learn rhythm, lyrics and staging. It paid off in the end with an encore performance of “The Laughing Song” from “Die Fledermaus,” which the crowd loved.
Not only did this opera produce non-stop laughs, it also gave drama. While introducing “Fly Away” from “Never Never Land” performed by Amber Atkins, Dr. Clark gave the audience a side note.
He said dramatic shows usually have comedic relief in the middle, comedic shows do the same with dramatic relief.
The show had a drunken criminal, a couple of mean stepsisters, some brave individuals and many more characters. With so many students traveling to Monroe for the NATS competition, Dr. Clark scheduled two performances for “Comedy Tonight” scenes.
