Crowder Theater students go Broadway

submitted photo Students from Crowder College's theater department gather at the Music Hall in Kansas City, Mo., to view a stage performance of the Broadway play, "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat," in a March field trip. The department makes an effort to take such a trip on a regular basis, to give students another perspective on live performances.

Herald-Tribune

Nevada, Mo. -- Lights. Sound. Style. Studying the elements of theater has been the primary objective in Janet Reed's Introduction to Theater class this semester, and on March 31, students were treated to a Broadway-class production of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat," a musical version of the Genesis story of Joseph and his brothers, performed live at the Music Hall in Kansas City, Mo.

Before making the trip to Kansas City, students studied stagecraft and conducted a reader's theater of two different plays.

In addition, CCPA board member Tom Schmidt gave students a tour of the Fox Playhouse and showed them how lights and sound make the technical aspects of theatrical performances possible.

Study and preparation made students eager to see professionals put a production onstage and also made them fully appreciate the excellence in performance, stagecraft, and spectacle they witnessed when the curtain went up and the music began.

"The dances were captivating," Daniel Peters said, "and added in with the lighting effects of the stage, made for a very well put-together spectacle."

Klarisa Norman was surprised at how athletic the actors were. "They were all in perfect step with one another, and you could just see how muscular they were."

Holly Davis added, "The performers appeared to be perfectly in sync with one another. The voices in this performance were all very strong and set the mood for each scene."

Jill Hamilton agreed that the music was impressive, saying, "The thing I loved the most were the voices of the two main characters. They were both outstanding. It is so different to hear actual professionals sing and dance."

Davis summed up the sentiment of the group, saying, "I would highly recommend that others go see this performance, and I would love to see more like it. It was a performance that I will never forget."

Crowder students attending and participating in the field trip were Daniel Peters, Tanya Worthington, Justdan Lockwood, Paige Snyder, Josalynn Rutledge, Cristina Garzee, Joan Hardin, Amanda Mays, Amanda Cutshaw, Lezlie Fast, Holly Davis, Mirandia Fowler, Jill Hamilton, Klarisa Norman, Nate Hensley, Jake Norman, and Bryan Cloyd.