"'That's Broadway, Baby!'"

Under the direction of Maria Boundas Bakalis, the Waubonsee theatre department performed “Broadway,” an entertaining story set in a 1930s nightclub, on April 12, 13 and 14.

Drama began to unfold when feuding crime lords (played by Will Wilson and Cameron Meuller) paid a visit to the club at the same time, sparking a less than friendly confrontation. The remainder of the play revolved around the cover-up of said confrontation, especially when police detective Dan McCorn (Clint Carlton) showed up. The other major plot twist involved the love triangle between nightclub manager Roy Lane (Michael Hochstetler), crime boss Steve Crandall (Wilson) and cabaret dancer Billie Moore (Christa Foster).

On top of all the conflict between the characters, the nightclub was still a nightclub, and Lane, Moore and the other dancers were constantly flitting back and forth to perform numbers in a wide variety of costumes (props to the designers for the variety and to the actors for changing their outfits so quickly).

With regard to the acting, the award for one of the best performances of the night definitely goes to Michael Hochstetler and Will Wilson. The duo played the parts of nightclub manager and crime boss, respectively, and had a number of excellent scenes together. Both characters were trying to woo the same woman, and they were at odds for much of the play.

The performance of these two was especially interesting to watch, as they played a far different type of role in the fall 2006 play “Break a Leg,” when they were insufferable comic hounds who had a one-liner response to everything.

Another highlight of the play was the spectacular set. Led by Sean Ream, the set-construction crew built an amazing set that included two sets of stairs, an office, a bar, and very period-appropriate paint scheme. My hat is off to all those that put in hours of work on the set, because it turned out very nice and added a great feeling to the entire play.

While “Broadway” was nowhere near the laugh-fest that last semester’s “Break a Leg” was, there were a few laugh-out-loud moments and a number of smirk-inducing lines, including one said by the exasperated club owner, Nick Verdis (played by Ream), who exclaimed at one point that it “was a free country—almost.”

“Broadway” succeeded in the drama department, however, and aside from a few dragging moments here and there, the play was well-acted, exciting, and definitely another top-notch performance by the Waubonsee theatre department.

(Originally published in the Waubonsee Community College Insight, May 7, 2007.)