Skip to main content
Events Calendar

The annual student-directed revue promises to explore the deeper side of musicals

This year’s Broadway Revue, performed by members of BYU’s interdisciplinary Music Dance Theatre (MDT) Program, will uplift audiences with songs from some of Broadway’s most inspiring shows. Performances will take place in the Pardoe Theatre of the Harris Fine Arts Center on Feb. 23 at 7:30 p.m. and on Feb. 24 at 2:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

The production is directed by students Daniel Wallentine and Hanna Cutler and will include songs from recent Broadway shows such as Dear Evan Hansen, Anastasia and Newsies, as well as classics such as Les Miserables and Seven Bride for Seven Brothers.

“It’s an exciting and eclectic mix of old and new pieces,” Cutler said. Both Cutler and Wallentine emphasized their desire to showcase the more sincere and profound aspects of musical theatre.

“Musical theatre can oftentimes be categorized as a flashy, dazzling art form meant to wow audiences with spectacle and talent,” Wallentine said. “While this is definitely a big part of this discipline, this year we hope to also show the heart, passion and power behind the art.”

Wallentine also expressed his excitement of using videography to help enhance the audience experience and further convey the message of sharing light. Right from the opening number, “Light” from Next to Normal, audiences will be treated to emotionally moving songs that have made an impact on the cast.

“I love how I can find myself and elements of things that are happening my life in each of the numbers I am in,” said Dayne Joyner, a junior in the MDT program who performs in “Light,” as well as an arrangement of “Bring Him Home” for quartet and “Last Night on Earth” from American Idiot. “I can connect with each song and share a piece of myself and how I’m confronting my own problems and challenges in life through the performance.”

Just because the focus and theme of the revue is on musicals that uplift and inspire, doesn’t mean there won’t be plenty of dance and spectacle. The performance will include the tap number, “I’ve Got a Rhythm” from Crazy for You and “History of Dance,” an elaborate eight minute number that explores the many different dance styles used in musical theatre.

“I love that unlike a staged musical that is all one style,” said Channing Weir, another junior in the MDT program whose vocals will be featured in a rendition of “Raining Men,” the Broadway Revue gives me the opportunity to do many different things in a short period of time. I’m doing numbers that utilize high intensity ballroom dancing, holding out high notes and tap dancing with props.” 

All proceeds from ticket sales will go toward scholarships for Music Dance Theatre program students.

“As performers,” Wallentine said, “many of us have had life-changing, even sacred experiences associated with theatre. Our hope is to provide audience members with opportunities to be moved, changed and inspired by the stories we choose to share.”

Location: Pardoe Theatre

Price: $7-11