Peals of laughter erupted from Markel Auditorium on Jan. 17 as professional comedians sang about wiggling wombats, furry caps, jazzy cats, and sparkling snowflakes, all in the hopes of winning the “Phony Award,” a parody of Broadway’s Tony Award.
For an hour and a half, a sold-out crowd enjoyed the musical and theatrical talents of “Broadway’s Next Hit Musical,” an awards-show style production that combines fast wit and musical talent.
The New York City-based improv troupe performed songs from musicals they made up within seconds, complete with piano accompaniment, choreography, and storyline, all based on prompts audience members wrote on slips of paper in the lobby before the show.
After each of the four artists performed their part, the audience applauded for its favorite, and the entire cast then performed a mini musical based on the winning scene.
“Down and Out Down Under,” the story of an unlucky Australian businessman who relies on wombat friends to lift his spirits, won the Phony Award for the Hillsdale performance. The mini musical included a dance move from an audience member, which resembled a one-legged pepper-grinding hop.
The show was part of Hillsdale’s Professional Artist Series, which brings in professional artists for free performances for the college and local Hillsdale community.
“I booked this group a year ago,” Professor of Theater George Angell said. “We used to have an improv group that came through regularly, but I haven’t booked them for a number of years. Broadway’s Next Hit Musical is a good company, and the all-music-based improv is fun to watch and tough to do.”
Students in fine arts classes are encouraged and even required to attend such performances, but senior chamber choir member Ian Swanson said he would have attended even without Professor of Music James Holleman’s prompting.
“I laughed a lot,” Swanson said. “I can really appreciate how much talent those guys have and how they can literally roll with anything that happens.”
Swanson said he found the star of “Christmas No More,” Katie Hammond, to be absolutely hilarious. Theater major and senior Katherine Denton agreed that Hammond‘s physical humor was a highlight of the performance.
“When Hammond came out as the wife and was so obnoxious and so hilarious and managed to set up the entire motivation for the scene, I was so impressed. They also kept bringing back the same jokes and had wonderful physicality,” Denton said.
Deb Rabbai, another star, taught an acting class to Hillsdale students. Denton said it was one of the best of the Performing Artist Series classes she has ever attended. Improv club member and freshman Hailey Morgan concurred that the new improv games she implemented in class stretched students in new and beneficial ways.
“She helped with a lot of the things I kind of struggle with,” Morgan said. “In one drill, we were taught that you’re not supposed to act negative, or go against what the other improviser does. You’re supposed to go with it and be positive, and I struggle with that a lot. But they all played off of each other so well. It’s so crazy.”
Besides providing laughs and a new look at how musical theater and improv can blend, the performance left Hillsdale with something else, at least according to Swanson.
“Now we have the ‘wombat wiggle’ to be added to the Hillsdale vocabulary for all of eternity,” he said.
