Feature Story
Celebrating Love and Affection in Theatre’s First Musical Revue, “Love, Broadway”
To kick off the new academic year, the Southern Virginia University Theatre program performed “Love, Broadway,” the program’s first musical revue featuring beloved Broadway love songs, on Sept. 27–28 in the Performing Arts Center.
“It’s like the love letter from Broadway,” said Dallyn Vail Bayles, assistant professor of theater and Broadway touring performer. “It’s a presentation of different songs tied together with a theme and a little bit of a story, and it’s about all aspects of love. Songs that reflect the thrill of your first love, songs about friendship, and songs about family.”
A musical revue is a multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines singing, acting, and movement that often focuses on a particular theme. Covering the various stages of love, including dating, friendship, finding the one, loss, and unrequited affection, the cast of student actors and musicians sang songs from Broadway plays “Into the Woods,” “Oklahoma!,” “Les Miserables,” “Wicked,” “Ghost the Musical,” “The Addams Family,” and more.
For the opening number, the cast and ensemble sang “Love Changes Everything” from the play “Aspects of Love.” The cast and ensemble joined again for the closing number, “Love Someone” from “Sherlock the Musical.”
Marking his directorial debut at Southern Virginia University, Bayles performed a medley of “Music of the Night/All I Ask of You” from “The Phantom of the Opera” during the pre-show. Patrick Summers served as the accompanist and music director, Associate Professor of Theater David Dwyer as the technical director, and Kim Hirt as the choreographer.
With 25 student performers, the following cast sang the associated songs:
Malynda Lobdell (‘26): “Nothing Short of Wonderful,” from “Dogfight,” “When He Sees Me” from “Waitress,” “All I’ve Ever Known” from “Hadestown,” “Suddenly Seymour ” from “Little Shop of Horrors”
Caroline Rasmussen (‘27): “When He Sees Me” from “Waitress”
Jaq Leger (‘25): “Agony” from “Into the Woods,” “Right Hand Man” from “Something Rotten”
Colton Sorensen (‘25): “Agony” from “Into the Woods,” “Suddenly Seymour” from “Little Shop of Horrors,” “Right Hand Man” from “Something Rotten,” “Miracle of Miracles” from “Fiddler on the Roof”
May Nash (‘28): “Pulled” from “The Addams Family”
Adell Wilson (‘26): “Vanilla Ice Cream” from “She Loves Me,” “A Heart Full of Love,” from “Les Miserables”
Brianna Gonzales (‘24): “People Will Say We’re in Love” from “Oklahoma!”
Ezekiel Gonzales (‘26): “People Will Say We’re in Love” from “Oklahoma!”, “Evermore” from “Beauty and the Beast”
Aaron Miller (‘25): “All I’ve Ever Known” from “Hadestown,” “A Heart Full of Love,” from “Les Miserables,” “How Could I Ever Know” from “The Secret Garden”
Talia Chabran Merrill (‘25): “A Heart Full of Love” from “Les Miserables,” “Suddenly Seymour” from “Little Shop of Horrors”
Liv Offen (‘25): “Suddenly Seymour” from “Little Shop of Horrors,” “With You” from “Ghost the Musical”
Gabrielle Atwood (‘25): “Suddenly Seymour” from “Little Shop of Horrors,” “Sonya Alone” from “Natasha, Pierre & the Great Comet of 1812,” “For Good” from “Wicked”
C.J. Ellis (‘25): “There’s a Fine, Fine Line” from “Avenue Q”
Emily Ruffell (‘28): “On My Own” from “Les Miserables”
Evelyn Melville (‘25): “Right Hand Man” from “Something Rotten,” “Miracle of Miracles” from “Fiddler on the Roof,” “For Good” from “Wicked”
Kate Howe (‘27): “How Could I Ever Know” from “The Secret Garden”
Ensemble: Ainsley Knight (‘28)
Ensemble: Avery Forster (‘27)
Ensemble: Benny Benavente (‘25)
Ensemble: Elizabeth Scott (‘28)
Ensemble: Kendall Oswald (‘24)
Ensemble: Lily Goodworth (‘28)
Ensemble: Lilya DeSouza (‘28)
Ensemble: Sydney Black (‘28)
Ensemble: Tessa Richardson (‘28)