“Broadway’s Next H!T Musical” is a show that has never been rehearsed, scripted or performed in the same manner.
The award-winning, improvised show performed a musical comedy at the Center for the Arts at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, Jan. 30.
“‘Broadway’s Next H!T Musical’ performed at the 2012 Association of Performing Arts Presenters Conference,” Director of the Center for the Arts Michael Breitner said. “Three or four venues in Wisconsin wanted them, so we banded together to get a good price. Plus, they’re funny.”
Before audience members entered the auditorium, they had the opportunity to create an original name of a song and write it down on a piece of paper, which could potentially be drawn during the show.
The show began with an elimination-style opening, which consisted of the audience brainstorming different musical titles and later choosing a favorite.
The whole show was thoroughly improvised from beginning to end based on the suggestions the audience
provided.
During the time of the show when audience members were ready to announce their song titles, they came up with a variety of interesting choices: “Potato chips and French onion soup for the Super Bowl,” “I love your nose and ears, darling,” “So cold in Wisconsin” and “Salty pants (from leaning on your car, of course).”
Each character drew an audience member’s song title and improvised a musical.
After various short performances, the audience collectively chose “I love your nose and ears, darling” as their favorite, which the actors used to create an elaborate improvisation based on that song to conclude the evening.
Overall, the performance incorporated Platteville humor, focusing on audience participation in its entirety.
Senior agriculture business major Heidi Williams attended the show, and was surprised that there was not a huge student turnout.
“I stumbled upon it [the show] on the campus calendar, and it sounded like a fun way to spend a Thursday night,” Williams said.
