Independent but innocent, kind but determined, Charity Valentine is breaking the mold. She is the lead character in EMU Theater’s musical production "Sweet Charity," which headlines the 2023-2024 theatrical season.
Musical theater professor Phil Simmons, the show's director, said Charity is a woman of the 1960s who is working but also wants to meet her prince charming and settle down with a family. She wants it all.
“An innocent, very kind, young lady who just wants to find love,” Simmons said of Charity.
Charity’s not the only one breaking roles. In EMU’s production, Charity is portrayed by freshman theater student Isabella McQuigg.
McQuigg is one of several freshmen taking on lead character roles for EMU theater this season, which is unusual. In past productions, lead roles were often filled by upperclassmen.
Another change from tradition in this year's season is that department professors chose their individual favorite works to fill the performance lineup. Despite that independent decision-making, a similar theme spreads through the shows chosen.
“This season bursts with themes of dreams, believing in oneself, examining the past, and hoping for a better future,” department leaders said in the introduction of the shows on the theater department website.
Then, quoting from one of the shows' characters, Cyrano de Bergerac, the website states: “This season is filled with characters who strive ‘to sing, to laugh, to dream. To walk in [their] own way, free …’.”
The season lineup kicked off Thursday with the production of "Sweet Charity." Performances continue Friday through Sunday, Oct. 20-22. Show times are 7 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 2 p.m. Sunday in the Legacy Theatre inside the Judy Sturgis Hill building on Eastern's campus. Tickets can be purchased at the box office in Judy Sturgis Hill on campus, or online through the university's Ludus ticketing system.
The Tony-nominated musical was written by Neil Simon. On Broadway, the show was directed and choreographed by Bob Fosse. The musical was adapted for the screen in 1969 with Shirley MacLaine as Charity and John McMartin recreating his Broadway role as Oscar Lindquist.
"Hare and the Tortoise"
EMU Theatre's next show, "Hare and the Tortoise," will be on stage Nov. 10-11.
Directed by theater lecturer Emily Levickas, the story is an adaptation of the Aesop's fable, "The Tortoise and the Hare." The show presents a tale about friendship, opposites, and time. The actors use music, color and stage movement to share the story.
"Hare and the Tortoise" was written by Brendan Murray.
"A Wrinkle in Time"
From Nov. 20 to Dec. 3, the department presents "A Wrinkle in Time." The department also scheduled school matinee performances for Dec. 5-6. Theater lecturer Jennifer Felts is the director.
In this show, young heroine Meg Murry teams up with Mrs. Whatsit, Charles Wallace, Calvin O'Keefe and more. Meg battles through evil forces, trying to rescue her father. While doing so, she also battles her struggles, trying to figure out who she is and determine her purpose in life.
"A Wrinkle in Time" was written by American novelist Madeleine L’Engle and adapted for the stage by Tracy Young. The novel, first published in 1962, won the Newbery Medal, the Sequoyah Book Award, the Lewis Carroll Shelf Award.
"Dontrell, Who Kissed the Sea"
Directed by theater professor Wallace Bridges, "Dontrell, Who Kissed The Sea" hits the stage Feb. 15-18, 2024.
The story focuses on 18-year-old Dontrell Jones, who decides to journey into the Atlantic Ocean. Jones wants to find an ancestor who was lost during the Middle Passage. As Jones searches, he encounters struggles between him and his father. Jones' family worries their son will be lost on the ocean and in a dark, mysterious past.
Even with all the dark, the show is full of light, featuring humor, and rhythmic music in the background, while Jones tries to correct the bad side of history.
The show was written by Nathan Alan Davis.
"Cyrano de Bergerac"
Theater lecturer John Seibert is directing "Cyrano de Bergerac" for this year’s lineup. The show appears on stage April 11-14.
Written in 1987 by French dramatist and poet Edmond Rostand, this show has hit stages around the world for decades. The play was written in verse, in rhyming couplets of 12 syllables in each line. It is the story of a man who is talented and intelligent but considers himself ugly, due to a big nose, and therefore unable to court the love of his life.
This production, however, is based on a newer adaptation written by Martin Crimp.
In the Crimp show, the main character helps another man find is one true love, by using talents of raps and rhymes, along with other creative skills and linguistic brilliance.
"The Price of Saffron"
The Price of Saffron" is an adventure tale about guidance told through stories, generational differences, and the heroic strength that comes from knowing oneself.
This show was commissioned in partnership with Ann Arbor’s Spinning Dot Theatre, as part of a nationwide BIPOC Superhero Project. BIPOC is an acronym for Black, Indigenous and People of Color. The superhero project was launched to give playwrights of color more access to mainstream and regional youth theater audiences.
The EMU production is a staged reading scheduled for May 17-19, 2024.
New territory
"Charity" director Simmons, who’s been a part of the theater department for 18 years, said audience members will be able to connect with the characters in the musical.
“You get to identify with several of them,” Simmons said, adding that this is a reason EMU students should see the show.
Based in the 1960s, the story focuses on Charity, who has met several different types of men in her life. Throughout those times, she learned that within herself she can do anything she puts her mind to, and she can determine what she wants and needs.
Simmons said it’s a powerful show and the production includes many firsts for the theater department.
Those first include the lengths of some of the musical numbers. In the show, two are six minutes long. There's also one that's five, and one that’s four minutes long. Simmons said it takes a lot of heart and skill to be on the stage for that long, especially when you have to dance and recite both lines and lyrics.
One reason Simmons said he likes the show is the choreography by Fosse.
Fosse’s skill is in using dance as a form of expression and emotion, Simmons said. "He has an amazing style of dance that nobody else has, which I love because it plays to an actor's character."
Eastern dance majors are leading the show, and new faces are being added to the cast mix this season, Simmons said. Both leads in "Charity" are freshmen and some other leads are new members of the theater program.
Media studies and journalism major Matt McFarlin plays Daddy Brubeck, the character played by Sammy Davis Jr. in the film version. Daddy Brubeck is a hippie cult leader.
McFarlin, and most cast members, also plays art of the ensemble. McFarlin’s first show with EMU theater was this time last year, meaning he is somewhat of a newbie in the department.
“The cast, the ensemble, and how supportive everybody is of each other,” is the best part about being a part of "Sweet Charity," McFarlin said.
“I think Eastern students should come out to see any of our shows we do because we put a lot of hours of practice into it and we’re putting on a very entertaining show that I think anyone would enjoy,” McFarlin said.
Student actors rehearse a scene from "Sweet Charity," on the Legacy Theatre stage inside the Judy Sturgis Hill building on EMU's campus. The scene involves the main character and others inside a church. The public performances are Oct. 20-22, 2023.
Freshman Bella McQuigg, who plays Charity, is a musical theatre major. Like Simmons and McFarlin, McQuigg said she is ecstatic about "Sweet Charity’s" showcase. Being both a freshman and the lead of the show, McQuigg said, creates a lot of pressure but that's to be expected.
“This process has been amazing," McQuigg said. "Everyone is so kind and supportive. It’s a perfect environment. I cannot imagine better people to go through this process with."
"Sweet Charity" is suggested for ages 14 and up. For additional details, and information on multi-show ticket packages, called flex passes, visit the university theater productions web page or call the box office: 734-487-2282.
