From April 11th to April 15th, Somewhere over the Footbridge will take HBS by storm. Hundreds of students will have the privilege of viewing the product of months of diligent work by some of HBS’s most talented writers, dancers, and singers, not to mention a host of others working behind the scenes to ensure the success of this venture. The premise of the show—an HBS take on the classic The Wizard of Oz, in which Dorothy Middleton (Kat Ogletree, NB) //www.replicaforbest.co.uk/replica-breitling-watches-sale-for-uk.html, Private Jay Bieber (Jon Dick, NB), Louis Shelfsteam (Ann Lucena, NC), and Bernard Goldman (Matthew Arth, OG) are transported “somewhere over the footbridge” by the evil Jeff Skilling (Jorge Pilo, NA) and must find their moral compass in order to return.
Does it live up to the hype? On April 4th, The Harbus was allowed a sneak peak viewing of the show, and can assure you that, despite a few rough edges, many of which will assuredly be fixed by opening night, the question to ask is not whether the show meets expectations, but instead by what point in the show those expectations are blown out of the water.
The Comedy
Witty and relevant, the HBS-centric dialogue was delivered brilliantly. Other than one off-color comment about The Harbus, the humor was in good taste, and relied on cleverness rather than shock value to drive home its punch lines—a testament to the hard work put in by the writing team over the last year. No group is left unscathed, and the love and pain are spread evenly (though LEAD might be a little extra crispy at the end of the day).
The Dancing
Though the audience gets a few samples of the group’s potential, its full force is not experienced until “Bad Romance”, a wonderfully-choreographed and produced segment which highlights the talents of leads Kat Ogletree(NB) and Matthew Arth (OG), along with a host of backup dancers and singers. From that point of the show onwards, the show kicks it up 5 notches with a series of energized performances and stays strong through the finale.
The Singing
Generally, the singing is great, but lead Kat Ogletree (NB) stands above the rest. Her solo rendition of the title theme is one of the highlights of the show. Ogletree’s stage presence and vocal prowess easily resonates through Burden Auditorium.
The Acting replica watches
Though the leads are all exceptional, it feels only appropriate to highlight a few secondary characters which contributed more than their share in their relatively short time on the stage. Liroy Haddad’s (NJ) portrayal of Tim Bulter, Director of Career Development, was brilliant, and so amusing that during his 5-minute segment, I fell out of my seat on multiple occasions. Silvia Cruz’s (NH) depiction of Frances Frei, Chair of the RCs, was energized, powerful, and surprisingly realistic down to her intonations and speech patterns. Again, hilarious. Job well done indeed.
Concluding
The Harbus encourages you to attend Somewhere over the Footbridge, not just to support your fellow classmates, but to laugh, to cry, to laugh, and to laugh some more—to be an active participant in the HBS event of the year. This is one show that’s worth skipping a few cases to go see.
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