Tag: musical

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Campus News

Lyric Theatre: She Loves Me!

Lyric Theater - She Loves Me
Lyric Theater - Courtesy of - Hannah Sturdivant
by Jiana Martin ('26)

Tonight at 7:30 p.m. the Lyric Theatre will perform “She Loves Me” (its second of four shows) in Houghton Academy’s  Tysinger Auditorium. 

“She Loves Me” is a warm and charming romantic comedy – music by Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick and a book by Joe Masteroff – set in a 1930s European perfumery owned by Mr. Maraczek.

Professor Amanda Cox, Director of Houghton’s Lyric Theatre, explained, “It is actually based on the same Hungarian play (“Parfumerie” by Miklos Laszlo) that inspired three movies, including the beloved film “You’ve Got Mail” starring Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks.”

The story follows two shop clerks, Amalia Balash and Georg Nowack, who initially cannot stand each other. After responding to a “lonely heart’s advertisement” in the newspaper, they are delighted and look forward the love letters they exchange. However, they do not realize they are corresponding with each other.

“I have had the most wonderful time directing this musical,” Cox added, “many of the roles are double cast and it has been such a joy to see each actor bring their own personality and choices to the role.” 

Cox chose this production because it is her favorite musical and she had been waiting for the right time to put it on. She has played the role of Amalia twice and finds it to be a beautiful experience directing it now.

Emily Quick ‘23 is one of the two actresses playing the smart, hardworking, funny, and sometimes unhinged Amalia. 

“I see a lot of myself in Amalia, so it’s been so much fun getting to portray a character that’s already very similar to me,” Quick commented. “It’s been great getting to explore such a relatable character who feels such a wide range of complicated emotions.”

Despite the challenges, she has enjoyed working with a double cast because it is fun to see how the characters vary depending on who’s performing. 

Professor Benjamin Lipscomb,  one of the two actors who play Mr. Maraczek, expressed, “It’s been a delight to work with students I already knew (and some I didn’t) as a collaborator.” 

As he prepares for the show, Lipscomb has reflected on his character’s paternal relationship with the men working under him. He considers it essential to establish the relationship early on; otherwise, Mr. Maracek could come across as a jerk when he is stressed and irritated.

Emily Hanes ‘26, who plays Miss Illona Ritter, has enjoyed the opportunities to share fun moments with the cast. 

“Even though we’ve had a lot of late nights, it truly is a joy to be able to do this show with all of these wonderful people,” Hanes stated. “It’s been a big blessing!”

Her favorite part of bringing her character to life has been exploring Illona’s journey from doubt and insecurity to finding love and herself. 

“She starts off unsure of herself, caught in shallow relationships, but by the end, she finds her own voice and realizes she deserves true happiness,” Hanes explained.  

Audiences can count on an enjoyable evening of laughter and smiling tears.

“The story is so fun, the characters hilarious and engaging, and the music is wonderful and will stick in your hearts and minds for days!” concluded Cox. 

“She Loves Me” will perform a 2 p.m. matinee tomorrow, with a final performance at 7:30 p.m. that same night. ★

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Arts

“Annie” Performance a Hit

Last weekend, The Houghton Musical Theatre Players, also known as HMTP, performed “Annie”, a Broadway musical that tells the story of an optimistic orphan girl and her journey of finding a family and a home.

Set in New York City during the Great Depression, the musical also includes the economic and social tensions of the time through a musical number performed by homeless people and a particularly interesting scene which involves Annie, President Franklin Roosevelt, his advisors, and Mr. Warbucks.

Annie, played by Liana Wool, functions in this scene as the ultimate force of good feelings and bright expectations. The President, played by Mike Heyd, and his advisors join her in a reprise of “Tomorrow” after which they come up with the idea for The New Deal: the plan that changed the fortunes of America during the Great Depression.

While these scenes dealt with the very real and devastating poverty of the time, HMTP found moments appropriate for comic relief, blending both heavy and light concepts into an enjoyable presentation.

Crowd favorites were Miss Hannigan, played by Janelle Conklin, and Rooster, played by Aaron Young. Despite having only five weeks to memorize lines and put together the majority of the performance, the actors seemed beautifully rehearsed and very comfortable performing together. The orphans, as an ensemble, displayed a particular comfort and chemistry with each other. Director Wynn Horton said, “The orphans were the easiest to teach; they just had to be loud and have lots of energy.”

Josh Mertzlufft, who played Oliver “Daddy” Warbucks, commented on the diversity of the cast and crew and that diversity’s implications for the performance. He said, “There were people from everywhere [on campus] involved. There was no stereotype. We were really a cross-section of the campus, and the group was definitely not dominated by music majors.”

Horton and the cast felt that they could fulfill a greater calling while enjoying their talents in music, acting and dancing; 25 percent of the profits from the ticket sales went toward the Hillside Family of Agencies. Hillside, based out of Rochester, provides a wide variety of services, one of which happens to be adoption.

Because Houghton regularly deals with social justice issues both locally and globally, supporting an agency that provides help with adoptions is in line with the college’s overarching goals.

Mertzlufft said, “There is a campus drive for social action, and a lot of groups on campus are concerned with raising awareness. Not as many are actively pursuing those convictions. Sometimes, Houghton is being more of a mouth than hands and feet. ‘Annie’ was a way to be active.”

Elisabeth Nelson, a sophomore who played one of the orphans, said, “My greatest memories come from creating new relationships and meeting many different people. I would not have gotten to know some of the people I did without ‘Annie’, and that is what I will take away from my experience.”

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Arts

The Riviera Theater

The Riviera Theatre and Performing Arts Center in North Tonawanda has a rich history; in fact, you can read all about it on the theatre’s website thanks to Bob Sieben.

I learned the Yellen family built the theatre in 1926, and they installed a Wurlitzer pipe organ in the same year.  The theatre’s organ, nicknamed The Mighty Worlitzer, began with 11 pipes and has since expanded to 20, requiring constant attention and tuning according to Sieben.

The Riviera Theatre
The Riviera Theatre

The North Tonawanda History Museum’s website states that the theatre, which seats 1,200 people, first showed silent movies accompanied by Wurlitzer organ music. It goes on to explain that the theatre fell into disrepair for a time after television replaced movies.

In 1980, the Riviera Theatre was placed on the Register of Historic Landmarks by the US Department of the Interior. In 1988, the Riviera Theatre and its organ were put up for sale, and the Niagara Frontier Theatre Organ Society (NFTOS)  set out to purchase the theatre through the help of a fundraising drive in the Tonawandas and Western New York.

Now the NFTOS and Western New York aim to preserve and share the heritage of the historic “movie palaces and their original ‘Mighty Pipe Organs’ ” through the restoration and upkeep of the Riviera Theatre, in Sieben’s words.

You can go to see this nostalgic theatre and organ for yourself; it remains active to this day, still presenting movies, live theatre, concerts and other special events. Coming up on Friday and Saturday February 1 and 2 at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday February 3 at 2 p.m. is a performance of Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt’s Broadway show I Do, I Do.

The pair are best known for The Fantasticks, the world’s longest-running musical. Riviera Theater’s website describes I Do, I Do as the touching story of a couple’s journey through 50 years of marriage, eventually re-discovering how much they need one another.

Adult tickets for the production are $20, and they can be purchased online through the Riviera Theater’s official website. If you are a history buff or a theatre enthusiast, consider making the trip to North Tonawanda for this or one of the theatre’s later events.