December 12, 2011

For Immediate Release

Hastings College students to prepare, perform two musicals for January term coursework

Note to Media: Press nights for “The Club” are at 7 p.m., Monday, Jan. 16 and 8 p.m., Tuesday, Jan. 17 in the Hastings Masonic Temple Ballroom.

Press nights for “Assassins” are at 7 p.m., Monday, Jan. 30 and 8 p.m., Tuesday, Jan. 31 in Scott Studio Theatre.

For more information, contact Jim Fritzler at (402) 461-7348 or jfritzler@hastings.edu.

(Hastings, Neb.) – Each January, Hastings College students immerse themselves in a single course for the month.  This session, known as J-Term, allows students and faculty alike to engage in discovery, innovation and unforgettable learning experiences.   

For students taking Musical Theatre Workshop, this J-Term will be spent rehearsing for not one, but two musicals – “The Club” and “Assassins”.  Under faculty from both the Department of Theatre Arts and the Department of Music, students will explore how to produce musical theater.  

Assisting with teaching the class and providing choreography for the performances will be Wendy Taucher, a New York City-based choreographer.  Taucher has achieved distinction as a choreographer, opera and musical theater director, author and teaching artist.  She has long-time affiliations with the Lincoln Center Institute, publisher Pearson Education and The Yard.  She has balanced the creation of new dance and performance work, directing opera with musical theater, arts education, curating and writing both in the U.S. and abroad.  Educated as a musician at Northwestern University, she studied choreography with Bessie Schonberg at Dance Theater Workshop.

Hastings College’s Department of Theatre Arts and Department of Music present
The Club
By Eve Merriam

This musical delves into the world of a Victorian men’s club – a club with a twist!

8 p.m., Thursday-Saturday, Jan. 19-21 in the Hastings Masonic Temple Ballroom (411 N. Hastings Ave.)

The Box Office opens Monday, Jan. 16 and will remain open Monday-Friday from noon to 5 p.m.  Tickets are $8 general and $5 for seniors and non-HC students. Call (402) 461-7380 or e-mail tickets@hastings.edu.

CAST AND CREW LIST FOR "THE CLUB"
Pianist: H. Jensen, Hastings, Neb.
Maestro:  J. Hazelton, Fremont, Neb.
Henry:  S. Myers, Thermopolis, Wyo.
Bertie:  J. Rudolph, North Platte, Neb.
Freddy:  K. Linblad, Hastings, Neb.
Johnny:  S. Colbert, Weeping Water, Neb.
Bobby:  M. Loseke, Lakewood, Colo.
Algy:  E. Funkey, Hastings, Neb.

Stage Manager:  Katy Abernathy, Mitchell, Neb.
Assistant Stage Manager:  Abby Phelps, Emporia, Kan.

ORCHESTRA
Liz Case, Gibbon, Neb.
Margaret Gregory, Grand Island, Neb.
Sarah Wolf, Hastings, Neb.
Kristen Semerad, Rogers, Neb.
Kelsey Lane, Blair, Neb.

Hastings College Department of Theatre Arts presents
Assassins
By Stephen Sondheim
(contains mature language and subject matter)

“Assassins” provides a darkly comic look at those who have attempted presidential assassinations. Through a carnival setting and multiple musical styles, composer Stephen Sondheim takes on America’s fascination with violence and fame through the assassin’s eyes.

8 p.m., Thursday-Saturday, Feb. 2-4 and 2 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 5 in Scott Studio Theatre (806 N. Turner Ave.)  

The Box Office opens Monday, Jan. 30 and will remain open Monday-Friday from noon to 5 p.m.  Tickets are $8 general and $5 for seniors and non-HC students. Call (402) 461-7380 or e-mail tickets@hastings.edu.

CAST AND CREW LIST FOR "ASSASSINS"
Czolcgosz:  Tyler Meuret, Omaha, Neb
Guiteau:  Tyler Koepp, Wood River, Neb.
Byck:  Matt Cashoili, Hastings, Neb.
Booth:  John Francis, Arvada, Colo.
Hinkley:  Michael Stinman, Maywood, Neb.
Oswald:  Blake Holen, Oxford, Neb.
Proprietor:  Chris Work, Plattsmouth, Neb.
Announcer:  Jacob Gilchrist, Colorado Springs, Colo.
Hangman/Bass Guitar:  Ross Thomason, Plattsmouth, Neb.
Garfield/Guitar:  Joseph Browers, North Platte, Neb.
Gerald Ford:  Kevin Smith, Hastings, Neb.
James Blaine/Warden:  Alex Leyva, Grand Island, Neb.
Herold:  Seth Fornander, North Platte, Neb.
Zangara:  Mario Powell, Colorado Springs, Colo.
Balladeer:  Kyle Bell, Julesburg, Colo.
Girl:  Haley Hull, Juniata, Neb.
Goldman:  Megan Lee, Seward, Neb.
Moore:  Rachel Klopp, Omaha, Neb.
Fromm:  Becca Holloway, Grand Island, Neb.

Stage Manager:  Robby Collins, Papillion, Neb.
Assistant Music Director:  Nick Raimondo, Columbus, Neb.
Assistant Stage Manager:  Abby Phelps, Emporia, Kans.
Assistant Stage Manager/Dance Captain:  Kara Geweke, Ord, Neb.

ORCHESTRA
Keyboard I/Conductor:  Zachary Peterson, Omaha, Neb.
Keyboard II:  Sarah Wolf, Hastings, Neb.
Reed:  Sarah Wolf, Hastings, Neb.
Reed:  Liz Case, Gibbon, Neb.
Reed:  Levi Kalb, Chappell, Neb.
Reed:  Kelsey Lane, Blair, Neb.
Reed:  Margaret Gregory, Grand Island, Neb.
Reed:  Christa Holmberg, Hastings, Neb.
Trumpet:  Zach Nickel, Hastings, Neb.
Trumpet:  Michael Hull, Hastings, Neb.
Euphonium:  Luke Ervin, Murdock, Neb.
Trombone:  Brad Copenhaven, Omaha, Neb.
Percussion:  Doyle Hanshaw, Omaha, Neb.  

Crews For Both Shows
Joe Ziemba, Hastings, Neb.
Tess Bruner, Shelton, Neb.
Anna (Harms) Francis, Wilcox, Neb.
Chelsea Johnson, Alma, Neb.
Sheila Hansen-Snell, North Platte, Neb.
Adam Neely, Lincoln, Neb.
Caitlin Schmidt, Cozad, Neb.
Michael Whalen, Bellevue, Neb.
Keith Wess, Fremont, Neb.
Laura Salyard, Columbus, Neb.
Matt Seivert, Highlands Ranch, Colo.
Aggie Tompkins, Beloit, Kans.
Christine Horner, Broken Bow, Neb.
Amon Willis, Lorain, Ohio
Mallory Suhr, Seward, Neb.
Stephanie Radke, Seward, Neb.
Michaela Hinrichs, Hildreth, Neb.
Gracie Howe, Eaton, Colo.
Jenyfher Torres, Hastings, Neb.
Kate Mattfield, Fraser, Colo.

PROPERTIES
Bo Jansa, Wahoo, Neb.
Amber Comer, Phillips, Neb.

COSTUMES
Hannah Seagren, Bloomfield, Neb.
Emma Parrish, Sterling, Colo.
Elizabeth Palmer, Thermopolis, Wyo.
Melissa Maichele, Highlands Ranch, Colo.

Hastings College, founded in 1882, is a private, four-year liberal arts institution affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA). A total of 64 majors in 32 areas of study and 12 pre-professional programs are offered to more than 1,150 students. Hastings College was named among “America’s Best National Liberal Arts Colleges” by U.S. News & World Report, a “Best in the Midwest” by The Princeton Review, and a “Best Buy in College Education” by Barron’s. Visit www.hastings.edu for more information.

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