By Olivia Williams
Professor Jd Bowman, the Professor of Theatre at McPherson College, was thrilled to be offered the rights to perform Frozen Jr.. Bowman has been doing theater for over 30 years, making his experience crucial for big shows like Frozen Jr.. He sprung upon the golden opportunity and is thrilled to have a 35-member cast, the biggest cast McPherson College has seen in years. With the help of the campus choir, which is run by Dr. Andrew Voth, the musical had amazing vocals and included additional songs like A Little Bit of You and Kristoff Lullaby that are not in the original movie.
In an attempt to advertise the production, the theatre department sent information to each of the local elementary schools. These efforts certainly paid off; the auditorium was packed with community members, young fans and college students. In fact, this was the first production of the school year where the balcony was open to the public. From the balcony, audience members were able to see exciting light projections and beautifully crafted set pieces. Jean McKinney Chance, a senior theater student at McPherson College, and Steve Benne, the Technical Director for the Theater, were the main people who crafted the set which featured multiple moving pieces. Theater employees also worked hard to assemble and paint the set’s background.
However, the complex set was simply one aspect of the performance. With such a large cast, costumes required extensive planning. McPherson College senior Ellery McMurry played a large part in the creation of the costumes. McMurry shares that she made and pieced together patterns. Then, she worked with her team to adapt the costumes so they would fit each actor. This process was hard; McMurry states, “it took a lot of time and work to figure out each person’s costume, but it was so rewarding being able to see each character come to life.” McMurry is not the only person who helped with costumes and cosmetics backstage. Cast and crew members all pitched in to ensure that every character had a polished look. The crew members reported that they were excited to work on the show, but the sheer amount of work was overwhelming, especially because they wanted the show to be perfect. In the end, the play had a run time of seventy minutes without an intermission (making it the perfect length for a younger audience). The production ran from Friday, March 7 to Saturday, March 8. Although McPherson College students enjoy the final product, there is so much more that goes on behind the scenes. For this reason, Bowman would like to extend a special thank you to Steve Benne, the costuming department, the McPherson College choir, and everyone else who was involved.
