BSC spring musical runs March 21-25
Published: Mar 15 2018
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Bismarck State College Theatre kicks off this year’s BSC ArtsQuest events March 21-25 with the musical spectacular "The Producers" – a musical adapted by Mel Brooks and Thomas Meehan from Brooks's 1967 film of the same name.
Performances are 7:30 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday and 2:30 p.m. Sunday in Sidney J. Lee Auditorium, Schafer Hall.
“The Producers” is a laugh-out-loud, outrageous, crowd-pleasing farce about a fading Broadway producer who is desperate to get to the top of his profession again, and his unlikely accountant ally who hypothesizes that one could make far more money with a flop of a show than with a hit. Together the two set out to produce the worst musical ever to hit Broadway. Their plan is to raise two million dollars to finance the show and then take the money and head to Rio when the show inevitably closes after just one performance. Against all odds, the show is a total hit.
“What is truly delightful about ‘The Producers’ is the deep love for musical theatre history the show evidences – a particularly Brooksian juxtaposition of low-brow comedy and high-brow referentiality. To call ‘The Producers’ a hit, upon its 2001 Broadway premiere at the St. James Theatre, would be to undersell the praise heaped upon it,” BSC Theatre Arts Director Danny Devlin says of the musical that earned over a million dollars a week for the first year of its run and set records with 15 Tony nominations and 12 Tony Awards.
Cast members of the BSC production are students Tim Bjugstad and Nicholas Rohrich (Mandan), David Dockter (Streeter), Nick Winistorfer (Bismarck), Davion Logan (Minot), Ambrosia Burke (Grand Forks), Breanna Sailer (Hazen), Hannah Hertz (Carson), Cianna Carlson (Bowman), and Krissy Claymore (McLaughlin, S.D.). BSC alumni Derek Pich and Adam Frank along with community members Max Rebhun, Brittany Bearsheart, Drew Pengilly, Greg Frank, Michael Seibel, Cameron Wald, Marissa Carpenter and Rob Sandness also join the cast.
Assisting Devlin is designer and technical director Dean Bellin, stage manager Carly Willoughby (Bismarck) and assistant stage manager Robert Day (Mandan). Music director and orchestra conductor is Dr. John Darling, BSC professor of music. Dr. Jeff Stone, BSC assistant professor of music, is the vocal director. Sound director is Alyssa Engel (Huntchinson, Minn.) and video production is done by BSC theatre alumnus Tanner Hostetter. Hollis Makintosh Heid is the production’s choreographer and Taylor Reinhardt (Mandan) is dance captain.
Reserved seat tickets can be purchased in advance online at bsctheatre.com, by calling the box office at 224-5677 or visiting the BSC Campus Information Center in the Student Union on campus. Tickets also can be purchased on performance days at the box office in Schafer Hall.