RLC Spring Musical Showcase to feature songs from hit Broadway shows

It’s been quite a year, and the Rend Lake College Music Department plans to sum it up in song with the upcoming 2021 RLC Spring Musical Showcase.

The one-night-only event will premiere on May 1 at 7 p.m. on the RLC YouTube page. The show is directed by RLC Music Professor Sara Alstat-Sanders, and the script is written by RLC student Faith Allendorf.

Alstat-Sanders said due to COVID-19 restrictions, the department is presenting another virtual concert event, similar to the RLC Choir’s “Collaborative Hope” held in early April.

“I knew I wanted it to be a student project, and it’s been a great experience,” Alstat-Sanders said. “A student wrote the script, and we all together picked out music that would go with the theme.”

Alstat-Sanders said the selections center on the various ways that life has been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic while still bringing messages of hope and community.

“It’s about what has happened in the last year, and what has changed in their lives,” she said. “We tried to put a positive spin on it. Each student picked two solos. We also have ensembles.”

The showcase will feature favorites from various Tony Award-winning musicals as well as some from newer productions. Alstat-Sanders said she was even introduced to new music based on the students’ selections.

One of the song selections - “Astonishing” - was to be featured in the RLC production of “Little Women” last spring. Alstat-Sanders said three of the cast members from that show wanted to perform it again for this spring’s event.

Songs and performers during the RLC Spring Musical Showcase include:

• “Seasons of Love,” (Rent), Performed by the cast.
• “Six Languages,” (The 25^th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee), Performer: Imogen Perry.
• “Kindergarten Boyfriend,” (Heathers), Performer: Faith Allendorf.
• “Screw Loose,” (Cry-Baby The Musical), Performer: Jayla Eubanks.
• “No One Else,” (Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812), Performer: Ember Milby.
• “Rainbow High,” (Evita), Performer: Mady Darr.
• “There’s Always A Woman,” (Anyone Can Whistle), Performers: Faith Allendorf and Imogen Perry.
• “I Hate Men,” (Kiss Me, Kate), Performer: Nealia Lewis.
• “Right Hand Man,” (Something Rotten!) Performer: Faith Allendorf.
• “The Life I Never Led,” (Sister Act), Performer: Jayla Eubanks.
• “Angels, Punks and Raging Queens,” (Angels, Punks and Raging Queens), Performer: Imogen Perry.
• “Jenny’s Blues,” (It Shoulda Been You), Performer: Ember Milby.
• “Don’t Rain On My Parade,” (Funny Girl), Performer: Mady Darr.
• “Where Am I Now,” (Lysistrata Jones), Performer: Nealia Lewis.
• “Astonishing,” (Little Women The Broadway Musical), Performers: Faith Allendorf, Nealia Lewis and Ember Milby.
• “You’ll Never Walk Alone,” (Carousel), Performed by the cast.

Pianist is Farrah Barry, and Jaron Hubbard is in charge of lighting. Sound and recording will be handled by Jaron Hubbard and Nathan Wheeler.

Alstat-Sanders said the RLC Spring Musical Showcase gives the community the chance to enjoy music from the comforts of home.

“We are hoping that this will give people an opportunity to watch it their homes and still get to enjoy an almost live performance,” she said.

With the advancement of the vaccine and more restrictions being lifted, there is hope that the return of live theater on campus will return next year. One good sign is that while beginning rehearsals were held over Zoom, the cast has been able to meet and perform in person the last few weeks.

“That is the plan for next spring, to hopefully get the musical life back to normal,” she said.

Set the date to watch the performance on the RLC YouTube channel.

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