[headline for article] about meta-musical '[title of show]'

You'll have to look elsewhere this weekend if you want to see singing nuns or children frolicking in the hills of Austria. Instead, ""[title of show],"" a modern one-act musical, will be playing at the Mitchell Theatre. This meta-theater production ran in Madison over the summer and is being brought back for a two-weekend run.

 

 

 

The show within a show is based on the concept of a playwright wishing to enter the New York Musical Theatre Festival, which is in a mere three weeks. He and a composer, along with two actresses, must rush to get the production ready for performance. Of course, drama ensues, and ""[title of show]"" lets audiences see the struggle between the desire for profit and fame and putting on a show that they consider quality.

 

 

 

Playing an actor in theater can be a difficult task, according to cast member and UW theater student Stuart Mott.

 

""It's something I haven't really done before,"" he said. ""You have to kind of throw away all the stuff you know and take a fresh approach. But it's also a relief, because [the ideas] are so familiar to an actor.""

 

 

 

Most musical numbers feature only one or two voices from the cast, allowing the audience to create an emotional attachment with the characters and their struggles. With only four cast members, ""[title of show]"" does not allow anyone a moment to break character without the audience's notice.

 

 

 

""There's no chorus to hide in,"" Mott said.

 

 

 

The small cast also allowed the actors to get well acquainted and become tight-knit. However, this was both an advantage and a disadvantage, as the actors were forced to share close quarters for long periods of time and spend almost too much time together in rehearsal.

 

 

 

""Thankfully we didn't really have issues,"" Mott said.

 

 

 

The show's music was a challenge for the cast; with so few voices, every mistake stands out. The only accompaniment is a keyboard, but Mott described the songs as ""catchy"" and ""comedic."" ""[title of show]""'s sound is very contemporary, unlike what people normally associate with musical theater. The same tired dance numbers are gone, and the dances are more fun and laidback instead of technical and over-rehearsed.

 

 

 

""We had more of a chance to improvise and have fun with the choreography,"" Mott said.

 

 

 

After already performing the show once this summer, the cast feels even more ready to impress audiences.

 

 

 

""It took a lot of time and preparation, but it paid off,"" Mott said. ""Now we're all really confident in our parts.""

 

 

 

""[title of show]"" will be playing at the Mitchell Theatre this weekend, September 9-11, as well as next weekend, the 16-18. Student tickets are $15 and general tickets are $22.