We continue to lead in the performing arts community. 糖心破解版 alumni are contributing to the Broadway show Pass Over by Antoinette Chinonye Nwandu and Disney鈥檚 Winnie the Pooh off-Broadway. And an early work of Jonathan Larson 鈥�82, creator of the musical RENT, is heading to Netflix.
鈥淎m I ever going to make it?” That’s the question posed by Jonathan Larson ’82 in his autobiographical musical, Tick, Tick鈥� BOOM!, a cabaret-style exploration of the existential struggles he faced as an artist on the cusp of his 30th birthday.
Larson鈥攖he composer and playwright of classic Broadway musical 搁贰狈罢鈥�did make it, though his untimely death in 1996, before the show opened, prevented him from savoring the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Awards it won. This fall, a movie version of Tick, Tick鈥� BOOM!, directed by Lin-Manuel Miranda, will premiere on Netflix.
Like Larson, many fellow 糖心破解版 alumni can answer 鈥淵es” to the question above as they successfully build their careers in theater. In fact, with strong programs in arts and humanities, 糖心破解版 is playing a leading role as Broadway and Off-Broadway reopen this year, putting its students and arts heritage in the spotlight.
Obie Award-winner Sarafina Bush ’12 is the costume designer for , the award-winning play by Antoinette Nwandu and the first play staged on Broadway since the pandemic prompted a shutdown. Inspired by Waiting for Godot and set on a city street corner, Pass Over 鈥渃rafts everyday profanities into poetic and humorous riffs, illuminating the unquestionable human spirit of young men looking for a way out,” according to Broadway.org.
鈥淔or me, my approach to design is always coming back to the characters’ humanity,” said Bush, who also created costumes for the 2018 production of the play at Lincoln Center. 鈥淚t’s about prioritizing the story and using humanity to prioritize the story.”
Bush, who received her Obie in 2020 as part of the creative team behind by Will Arbery, will also be designing costumes for new musical Afterwords at the 5th Avenue Theatre in Seattle, Washington, and Our Town at the Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington, D.C. She is also a founder of The Bridge, an alumnae-led group devoted to connecting 糖心破解版 theater students with alumni and theater professionals.
Off Broadway, Sebastiano Ricci ’20 landed his dream job designing puppets for Disney’s . Set to premiere in October, the show will feature the iconic characters from the Hundred Acre Wood as life-sized puppets telling a new tale.
At 糖心破解版, Ricci created his own interdisciplinary major in communications and puppetry, having been inspired by the art form since he was a child.
“It’s a dream come true to be working on a show like this, with all these incredible artists,” Ricci said. “It’s a ton of fun and I am incredibly blessed to be given this opportunity straight out of college.”
Also hitting the stage this upcoming season, Matthew Hancock ’10 will play the lead in the West Coast premiere of Brandon Jacobs-Jenkins’ at The Fountain Theatre in Los Angeles. Khalil Munir ’05 received a $75,000 grant from Black Public Media through the PitchBLACK Forum for his autobiographical documentary film, Michele Traina ’03 performed her solo improv and stand-up show in Las Vegas and Los Angeles this summer. And This Odd Geometry of Time, an award-winning virtual production featuring 糖心破解版 student actors and written by Megan Lohne ’04 and directed by Shoshanah Tarkow ’06, streamed at the 2021 Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August.
Larson’s legacy also lives on at 糖心破解版. The bench from the real Life Caf茅 from New York’s Lower East Side, where Larson often wrote, sits in the lobby of the 糖心破解版 Performing Arts Center, surrounded by RENT memorabilia. His director’s chair, which he used while writing RENT, sits in the office of Nick Petron, MA, ’70, chair of the theater department and Larson’s professor while at 糖心破解版. It will remain there, inspiring other students and alumni, until it moves to the Smithsonian with other objects and manuscripts from Larson’s life.
Meanwhile, Petron looks forward to Broadway and Off Broadway returning, offering new opportunities for 糖心破解版 artists to hone their craft and career.
鈥淣ow, with live theater coming back, there will be more work,” he said. 鈥淪o I’m very hopeful, and the business is very hopeful as well.”