Associate Opinion & Editorial Editor
More than 60 F&M Players took to the stage of the Green Room Theatre to perform What Would We Do Without You?: A Broadway Revue this past week. Co-directed by Kristen Lancaster ’13 and Athena Tahos ’14, the annual Revue featured 25 numbers from 25 different musicals, all centering on the camaraderie of the Players organization.
Co-directors Lancaster and Tahos, who began crafting Revue more than a year ago, had to look no further for inspiration than the performers around them. They worked to compose a show that incorporates all aspects of many different kinds of relationships in order to give a glimpse into the Players dynamic.
“We picked ‘What Would We Do Without You’ as the theme to encompass all our memories and feelings about Players,” Tahos said. “We are one big, happy family, working hard together each year to put on two shows for the F&M community. We couldn’t do what we do without everyone involved!”
Indeed, the score of Revue is as dynamic as the Players family itself. In selecting their setlist, Lancaster and Tahos strove to speak to the many quirks and dimensions of relationships.
“There are so many components to relationships; we had to include as many dimensions of different relationships as possible,” Tahos explained. “The songs we chose for the theme fit perfectly in the show. We have a great mix of songs, both old and new, about fun friendships, roommate troubles, romantic dilemmas, and much more.”
Those songs ranged from classic and standard, such as West Side Story’s “Tonight,” performed by Ben Hollenbach ’13 and Samantha Kahn ’14, to the fresh and snarky with Avenue Q’s gleefully vindictive “Schadenfreude,” performed by Kate Solomon ’13 and Catie Seibel ’13.
It also included the sappy and stalker-esque “Taylor the Latte Boy” and “Taylor’s Rebuttal,” performed by Lancaster and Jason Boyask ’16, respectively. The Players offered new takes on classic show-tunes with their two full-cast numbers “There’s no Business Like Show Business” from Annie Get Your Gun and “We Go Together” from Grease. Some numbers featured Lancaster and Tahos squaring off as Glinda and Elphaba, mismatched roommates from Oz-hell, in Wicked’s “What Is This Feeling?”
But for Lancaster and Tahos, who grinned at each other after their number with the precise opposite of unadulterated loathing, leading The Players has been a joy.
“Co-directing has been the most amazing experience; it teaches you about time management, making important decisions, and how to artistically organize an entire show,” Tahos said. “[Lancaster] and I have poured our hearts and souls into this show, and the entire cast has given it their all each day. It hasn’t been easy being a student, a director, and still participating in our other groups on campus, but it was so worth it.”
But for Tahos, even as the curtain falls after the final bow, the spotlight is still shining brightly on The Players.
“It has been an incredible two months rehearsing with the cast,” she said. “They are hilariously energetic, and you can tell they all have fun onstage. Each person paints a very vivid picture of each character they portray. They are the most talented people on this campus, and I am so lucky to have worked with all of them.”
Questions? Email Erin at emoyer1@fandm.edu.