Massachusetts Daily Collegian

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A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

Massachusetts Daily Collegian

A free and responsible press serving the UMass community since 1890

Massachusetts Daily Collegian

Theatre Guild to

UMass Theater Guild

After months of rehearsing for five nights a week, the University of Massachusetts Theatre Guild premieres its spring musical, ‘Bare,’ Thursdays at the Fine Arts Center Concert Hall.

The story of ‘Bare’ centers around two roommates, Peter and Jason, at a private Catholic high school. The boys are secret lovers who struggle to come out, finding it especially difficult in the Catholic atmosphere of St. Cecilia’s Boarding School.

Jason, as the popular ‘golden child’ of the senior class, finds the task more daunting than Peter. The musical deals with difficult questions of whether the good in life can outweigh the challenges that Peter and Jason face.

‘Bare’ debuted at the Hudson Theatre in Los Angeles in 2000. Written by Damon Intrabartolo and John Hartmere, Jr., the show was also produced in New York.

Intrabartolo ‘- who has worked as a composer on such films as ‘Lake Placid,’ ‘X2: X-Men United,’ ‘Fantastic Four’ and ‘Superman Returns’ ‘- composed the music while Hartmere wrote the lyrics.

Other musicals composed by Intrabartolo include ‘Ann E. Wrecksick and the Odyssey of the Bulimic Orphans’ and ‘Plop.’Like ‘Bare,’ ‘Ann E. Wrecksick’ debuted in Los Angeles, where Intrabartolo lives.

The choice to produce ‘Bare’ comes from a voting process, in which every member of the Guild can participate.

‘Anyone is able to nominate a show that they feel would be a beneficial production for the Guild to produce,’ said Ben Skinner, the show’s publicity director. Skinner also plays Zack.

‘They present the show through a series of detailed questions to the Guild’s executive board and from there, depending on a series of criteria, the executive board chooses three to five shows to present to the voting body of the Guild ‘hellip; at which point they are able to ask questions, make comments and have a discussion about the different shows,’ Skinner said. ‘After all has been discussed, the voting body votes. The musical and play that have a majority of the votes will be produced for the following semester.’

Undergraduate students comprise the entire cast and artistic team of ‘Bare.’

Being a part of the production is a serious commitment ‘- the Guild began rehearsals the first week of February. Every week of this semester the students dedicated each Sunday-Thursday evening to the production.

Skinner estimated that there were ‘around 80’ students vying for the 18 spaces in the cast of ‘Bare.’

Director Ilana Toeplitz has past theater experience both on and off stage.She has performed in ‘Pippin,’ ‘The Boy Friend,’ ‘Babes in Arms,’ ‘Jesus Christ Superstar’ and ‘Once on this Island,’ among others. She has previously directed ‘Lucky Stiff,’ a musical comedy based off Michael Butterworth’s 1983 novel ‘The Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo.’

Toeplitz takes theater and the arts seriously, as she is currently pursuing a major in ‘creative artistic direction, design and arts management’ through UMass’ bachelor’s degree in an individual concentration program.Before this, she had been working toward a bachelor’s of fine arts in musical theatre at the Boston Conservatory.

Many members of the artistic team have worked on Theatre Guild productions in the past, especially last semester’s ‘Once on This Island.’ All have prior experience either on stage or behind the scenes.

‘Bare’ will be performed May 7, 8 and 9 at 8 p.m at the Fine Arts Center Concert Hall.There will also be a matinee showing on Saturday, May 9 at 2 p.m.Tickets are $6 for students and seniors and $10 for general admission. They can be purchased at the Fine Arts Center box office.

Michelle Fredette can be reached at [email protected].

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