CANYON The ghouls and goblins who go bump in the night will sing and dance instead in a new musical production at West Texas A&M University.
“Monstersongs,” a rock musical song cycle by Rob Rokicki, will be streamed on demand through Monday, with a special screening set for 11 p.m. today in the Branding Iron Theatre on WT’s Canyon campus.
In the show, a young girl (played by Signe Elder, a sophomore musical theatre major from Lubbock) wanders into the world of monsters, said director Bradley Behrmann, assistant professor of musical theatre.
“The monsters come together ritually to pass along their stories, and this time, they’ll pass them along to a human child,” Behrmann said.
Among them: a mummy, Medusa, a troll, vampires and a Yeti, played by Evan Hample, a sophomore musical theatre major from Wasilla, Alaska.
“He’s a lonely guy, so I’m trying not to play into the stereotypes of a big, hulking monster,” Hample said. “I’m trying to play off of my own experiences and personality.”
Like last season’s award-winning “The Theory of Relativity,” “Monstersongs” is being recorded over several weeks in several locations in Amarillo and Canyon and in the School of Music’s on-campus recording studio at Mary Moody Northen Hall.
“This is all new to me,” Elder said. “Being in a recording studio is a lot different than being on stage. You don’t have to be as big on camera, and you have unlimited tries to get it right. It’s fun to learn to totally different way of working.”
The cast and crew all are learning quite a bit, Behrmann said.
“I’m especially proud of all of the training that has happened on this production. In addition to the student directing and design team, we have a number of WT debuts with this show. And in some ways, we’ve been able to make this process feel a bit more of a typical theatrical process for our students,” Behrmann said. “At this stage of the pandemic, we’ve been able to gather safely more frequently which has allowed not only more scope and nuance in the rehearsal process, but more of an integration of designers throughout.”
Cast members also include Michael Olinger, a musical theatre major from Houston, as the mad scientist father; Cassidy Horton, a musical theatre major from Odessa, as the mad scientist mother; Caleb Martinez, a musical theatre major from Seagraves, as the mummy; Jewel Schonhoff, a musical theatre major from Little Elm, as Medusa; Carley Venter, a musical theatre major from Midland, as the troll; Abigail Martin, a musical theatre major from Amarillo, as a teenage vampire; Joey Hill, a musical theatre major from Dallas, as a teenage zombie; Matthew Thurman, a musical theatre major from Frisco, as Igor; Savannah Poor, a musical theatre major from Odessa, as a ghost; Mitchell Hernandez, a music/vocal performance major from Canyon, as the doppelganger; Lauren Landtroop, a musical theatre major from Lubbock, as the witch; R.J. Flud, a musical theatre major from Midland, as the sasquatch; Brooklynn King, a musical theatre major from Pearland, as the ghost dancer; Zachary Todd, a musical theatre major from Highland Village, as the werewolf/Paul; Nolan Quintanilla, a musical theatre major from Canyon, as the satyr; Natalie Davis, a theatre performance major from Canyon, as the Reaper/dopple-girl; Leah Chalet Ingram, an acting major from Cisco, as Frankenstein; and Victoria Reyes, a musical theatre major from La Salle, as the faerie.
Tickets for the streaming window through Monday are $10 for individual viewing and $20 for family viewing.
Tickets for an ASL-enhanced production during the same streaming window also are available for the same price.
Tickets for the live screening today are $12 for adults, $8 for students and seniors, and free for WT students, faculty and staff with a BuffGold card.
Fostering an appreciation of the arts is a key component of the University’s long-term plan, WT 125: From the Panhandle to the World. That plan is being fueled by the historic, $125 million One West comprehensive fundraising campaign.
