Get ready to laugh, sing and dance in your seat.
All Campus Theater, a student organization at UT, is hosting its annual Musical Theater Revue this weekend.
“Musical Theater Revue is a cabaret-style performance, so it is not a traditional musical. Each number is a song from a different musical,” Amelia McCabe, president of All Campus Theater and producer of the show, said.
This is All Campus Theater’s seventh Musical Theater Revue. The revue consists of various numbers falling under the same theme with short acting pieces in between. Typically, All Campus Theater hosts revues in the spring, but this show marks the switch to fall.
There will be two shows on Oct. 10 at 7:30 p.m. and Oct. 12 at 5:30 p.m, in the Student Union Auditorium. The theme of this semester’s showcase is comedy, aiming for a lighthearted, energetic set of performances.
“Students can look forward to seeing a hilarious show! Each number is genuinely so entertaining and funny in their own special ways, and this would be an incredible show to watch,” UT sophomore and director Laila Schroeder said in an email statement. This is one of the funniest shows we have put on and I cannot wait to share that.”
Schroeder, one of four directors, oversees the process from casting to choreography and everything in between.
“It all started when we created the set list,” Schroeder said.
McCabe offered a glimpse behind the curtain into some of the numbers of the night. From “Opening Up” to “Waitress,” “Carrying the Banner” and “Newsies,” there are classics and new hits, each with its own interpretation.
“I think [students] can look forward to seeing artists who are taking liberties. I think that’s the cool thing about All Campus Theater and this Musical Theater Revue,” McCabe said.
Other featured songs include “Positive” from “Legally Blonde” with a partner dance and cheer routines and “Hard to Be a Bard” from “Something Rotten,” a renowned comedic choice with its all-male cast.
“I think that’s really fun that there is something for everybody in it, and with it being someone’s maybe first theater performance, I think it does a really good job showing what a huge ensemble piece can look like, and then also what a solo could be,’ McCabe said. “It really goes through every part of theater.”
As the president and producer of the show, McCabe has seen how the cast and crew of students have come together to make opening night a success.
“Just the work everybody’s put in … it has been a fast and intense process, and so I’m really looking forward to that opening night and our cast getting to see everyone in the audience,” McCabe said.
McCabe, a senior theater major, has a multifaceted role in this revue as president, producer, creative director and choreographer. She is also on stage as a featured dancer and emcee.
“It has been a huge learning experience for me … it’s also teaching me that we might not have all the resources we necessarily need, but we can still make it work,” McCabe said. “I think it’s been a really great opportunity to learn what to do with a very limited amount of resources.”
Outside of the musical theater revues, All Campus Theater hosts workshops in dance, writing, auditions and acting for all interested students, regardless of major or experience.
“It is a club that is always evolving, and I think the coolest thing about All Campus Theater is that each year it is something new,” McCabe said.
Students can learn in workshops, perform on stage or take on roles such as producer and director.
“I have loved putting my vision to life, but I have also loved bonding with the other directors and the cast,” Schroeder said in an email statement. “There is such an incredibly talented group of people part of this, and it has been amazing watching them throughout this process.”
Admission to the Musical Theater Revue is free, but donations are welcome. For more information, check out All Campus Theater’s Instagram @actutk.