'On the Town': Southeast's spring musical is a triple-threat of song, dance and acting

The first time Judith Farris saw "On the Town," it was summertime in Central Park. As it grew darker and the lights of the city came on, the show began. There was no need for a backdrop. New York City shined right before them.

Farris went to the show with Betty Comden and Adolph Green, the show's original authors and lyricists.

Cast members of the Southeast Missouri State University production of "On the Town" run through a rehearsal of the musical Wednesday.Glenn Landberg

"It's like, 'Pinch me, what is wrong or right with this picture? What is little ol' Judith Farris, originally from Cape Girardeau, doing here with these two illustrious people, watching a show they wrote and seeing New York City and the lights coming up?'" Farris, vocal director for Southeast Missouri State University's spring production of the musical, said she remembered thinking.

She met the writing team through their voice teacher, Keith Davis. Whenever he was away, Farris filled in for him. Eventually, in the early 1980s, she became Comden's primary teacher.

"On the Town" was Comden and Green's first Broadway show, opening in 1944. The concept was inspired by Jerome Robbins' 1944 ballet "Fancy Free," which Farris said was composed by a friend of the duo's who was up and coming at the time -- Leonard Bernstein.

Cast members of the Southeast Missouri State University production of "On the Town" run through a rehearsal of the musical Wednesday.Glenn Landberg

It was the beginning of monumental careers, and next week, the Broadway hit will be performed at the River Campus.

Kenn Stilson, director of "On the Town" at Southeast, said the show is a product of the period. The story is set and was written during World War II. Everything from the music and dance to the humor are a reflection of that age.

"It's an optimistic, patriotic type of play," Stilson said.

The plot follows the journey of three sailors who are on leave for 24 hours in New York City. Chip is interested in seeing all the sights, Ozzie wants to meet as many women as possible before his time is up, and Gabey immediately falls in love with Ivy Smith, whose picture he sees on a poster as June's "Miss Turnstiles." It then becomes the mission of his friends to help him find her. Along the way, following musical pattern, they also find love.

Choreographer Michelle Contrino directs two cast members during a rehearsal of "On the Town" on Feb. 10.Jeganaath Giri ~ Southeast Arrow

Stilson said Southeast's is one of the few productions of the show in the nation because a Broadway revival recently concluded in September. The Department of Theatre and Dance worked far enough ahead for its season that the rights for the show still were open.

There are inklings everywhere of Comden and Green's later works and as much dance as Bernstein's "West Side Story." Michelle Contrino, choreographer and Southeast dance professor, said there are more than 48 minutes of pure dance in "On the Town."

"When it comes to musicals, the process of acting is from words. When you can't express it enough in words, then you start to sing. When singing is not enough, you have to physically dance it," Contrino said. "Dance is supposed to be the ultimate form of expression in this, where it moves the plot along."

The dream ballet in Act 2 is six minutes long and mixes ballet, jazz and contemporary styles.

Cast members of the Southeast Missouri State University production of "On the Town" run through a rehearsal of the musical Wednesday.Glenn Landberg

"[It's] more like a piece of choreography you would see in the Spring Into Dance concert," Contrino said.

But whereas a choreographer would have 12 weeks to polish a single piece for a dance concert, Contrino had only six hours to create it. "Cleaning" comes after all the routines are established.

Contrino's task called for a lot of research, too. She couldn't choreograph a movement that wouldn't have been done in the mid- to late 1940s. Southeast's past productions of "Legally Blonde" and "Hairspray" are what Contrino called "social dance." "On the Town" is concert dance, with Robbins' basis being in ballet.

"His idea was to make it American, and that's what I'm trying to do is turn the ballet, which is mostly European dance, into an American art form," Contrino said. "These three sailors shouldn't be coming off a ship doing ballet out of a dance studio. It has to have pedestrian movement to it."

Cast members of the Southeast Missouri State University production of "On the Town" run through a rehearsal of the musical Wednesday.Glenn Landberg

She said she was able to add more cardio to the dancing when there are no vocals. When there are, however, dance can't compete with an actor's capacity to sing.

"This is by far the heaviest dance show we have ever done," Stilson said.

It's a triple-threat production. John Pletka, who plays the part of Gabey, said he grew up dancing, so learning numerous choreographed sequences wasn't the hard part.

"It was incorporating everything into it -- singing, dancing and acting at the same time," Pletka said.

As a result, the rehearsal periods and individual rehearsals also are longer. Stilson said a typical musical practice runs about three hours, but these go about a half-hour longer.

"Dance takes a lot longer to stage and to perfect," Stilson said. "So because it's more complicated in terms of the staging, we had to start earlier with our rehearsals."

The cast is made up of 43 students, Stilson said, and although there are varying skill levels, he has seen the same dedicated passion from every one of them.

"This is what these students do," Stilson said.

There's no heavy drama in the show. Essentially, the storyline was meant to be a sort of escapist comedy. People didn't want to think about the war. They didn't want to face the thought of servicemen not returning home. They wanted to think of love and friendship and forget reality.

"It was meant to be: 'This is what you're fighting for,'" Stilson said.

Showtimes for "On the Town" are 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Thursday and Feb. 27; 8 p.m. Feb. 26; and 2 p.m. Feb. 28 in the Bedell Performance Hall on the River Campus. Tickets are $19 or $22. For more information or to purchase tickets, call (573) 651-2265, visit rivercampusevents.com or visit the box office at 518 S. Fountain St. between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Pertinent address:

518 S. Fountain St., Cape Girardeau, Mo.