There's one sensation that just about anyone who's ever been to a Broadway show has experienced.
Goosebumps.
Members of the theater department and others from the community took to the stage at Cutlip Auditorium Thursday evening, practicing their songs and dance steps in preparation for "Our Hats off to You, a Performing Arts Extravaganza." The show's cast belts out parts of one Broadway song after another until the audience is mind-boggled from the memories of shows gone by.
The two-act production was compiled and edited by three William Woods faculty members - director Joe Potter, choreographer Adrienne Branson and musical director/accompanist Rebecca Talbert.
"We're doing this very minimally," Potter said. "There's a piano, and that's it."
The revue will feature music, theatre, dance and scene work from Broadway and beyond. The show will be performed at 7:30 p.m. Thursday-Oct. 1 and 2 p.m. Oct. 1 in Cutlip Auditorium on the Fulton campus.
"The music is basically all Broadway based," Potter said, adding the most current piece is probably one from Les Miserables. "Think of it as a whole medley of music, but broken up with other things."
Those other things include some dialogue and a lot of dance - with props including silver sequined top hats and beyond.
Also included in the production are children who took a summer theater course at William Woods.
"We did a mini-revue with songs from 'Oliver,' 'Annie' and 'Peter Pan,'" Potter said. "The second act has selected scene work from shows; this offers actors the chance to act. Then there's a big finish that ties it all back together with a little of this and a little of that. And it's kind of a homage to Judy (Garland) and Mickey (Rooney)."
Potter was raised in Independence.
"I grew up around the corner from Harry Truman," he said.
Potter got his bachelor of arts degree in theater from Drury University in 1977, then earned a master of arts in theater from California State University in Los Angeles in 1981. He bopped around Hollywood for a number of years, and his credits include work on "Star Trek: The Movie," "Blade Runner," "The Waltons," "Little House on the Prairie," "M.A.S.H." and more. He recalls rubbing elbows with well-known actors.
"They're just people at work," he said. "We came here in 1982. I wanted to get into teaching and start a family."
He became a faculty member of WWU and is now the artistic director of theater and an assistant professor.
"Thirty-four years later, I'm still here," he said. "As cheesy as it sounds, I love what I do. I love seeing the light bulbs go off above the students' heads."
This newest production includes 19 WWU students, nine technicians and seven children.
"The youngest member of the cast is 11, and the oldest is 30-something," Potter said. "We encourage the community to get involved if they see something they're interested in. We have a lot of supporters."
Student Bene Waggoner said she's singing solo parts in "Send in the Clowns" and "Do Re Mi" from "The Sound of Music."
"I love singing, but I don't know if I could make a career out of it," she said.
Freshman student Kelley Barr, however, has aspirations in theater. She's a huge fan of "The Voice," she said.
"That's my goal in two years," she said. "I enjoy all music, but as an artist? Country."
Barr said she is majoring in speech and theater education and loves singing, dancing and acting.
"I love being on stage and bringing a character to life," she said. "I find some part of it in me, and love finding those parts and bringing them out."
She said she is more of a musician than an actor.
"I want to be a music teacher," she said. "I play cello, and I'm self-taught on guitar and piano."
Barr, who comes from St. Louis, said she's thoroughly enjoying this production.
"I love it. I absolutely love it, and I love the people in it," she said. "It's so different than high school."
The box office for this production is open. For more information or to order tickets, call the theater department at 573-592-4281.
In early December, the theater department will present Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream," then "Snow White" in February and "Steel Magnolias" in April.