FSU Theatre Department to Perform [title of show]

“[Title of show],” the Frostburg State University theatre department’s second performance this semester, opens on Friday, April 15 at 7:30.

With music and lyrics by Jeff Bowen and a book by Hunter Bell,

is a musical about a musical. It follows the characters Hunter and Jeff, two struggling writers hoping that the New York Musical Theatre Festival, just three weeks away, accepts a piece that they are composing. The show won a Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical in 2009. 

Josh Mooney, a senior theatre major, is playing Hunter, and Matthan Potts, a freshman theatre major, is playing Jeff.

Professor Mairzy Yost-Rushton, who is directing the musical, called it “a mini-musical about major ambitions. It is a funny, playful, absurd and deeply personal look about what it means to be creative and struggling to overcome self-doubt and insecurities in order to find their place in this world – whether or not that place is a career in the theatre.

“I have been in love with the theatre since I started acting at the age of eight, and I have always been a sucker for “putting-on-a-show shows,” said Yost-Rushton.  “And

is essentially an upbeat, funny and contemporary take on that particular genre. I also like that it breaks the “rules” – characters ignore the fourth wall, ignore time and space, and are often irreverent and self-referential in very funny ways.”

Yost-Rushton hopes that the “themes of fearlessness and artistic independence” will resonate with viewers. “One of the show’s most universal moments — a number called “Die Vampire, Die!”— will hopefully resonate with anyone who has ever tried to create anything or attempt anything new and been “squashed” by their own doubts and insecurities in addition to the doubts and criticisms (well-meaning or not) of others,” she said.

She added that this show has been on the theatre department’s radar “for years.”This just seemed to be the year to finally ‘get ‘er done,'” she said. “It is fast becoming dated in terms of references and we wanted to try our hand at it before all of its ‘freshness’ is gone.”

Performances will take place April 15, 16, 21, 22, and 23 at 7:30 pm with a 2:00 matinee on April 16. Call the Theatre and Dance box office at 301.687.7462 for reservations and information. Tickets are $6 for students and $12 for the general public. This production is recommended for mature audiences.