During homecoming weekend, I decided to go check out the Emporia State University’s theatre department’s rendition of the musical, “Big River.” Unfortunately, I was not able to attend the first showing of the musical, but the third showing on Saturday actually had a nice turn out with a full house.
I arrived to Bruder Theatre a minute or two late, but luckily, the musical had not started on time. The service exhibited from the ushers was quite exemplary. After rushing to grab my ticket from the booth, there were multiple ushers ready to assist me. Kindly, one of the ushers handed me a pamphlet, and escorted me to a seat in the back of the theatre.
Once the crowd went dark, and the lights brightened on the stage, I began to grow anxious for what was to come next. Earlier that week, I had planned to attend at least one showing of the musical, and I had heard many positive reviews for the musical from my friends who were present at opening night. So basically, I came into the musical with an optimistic mindset.
By the time intermission came up, I quickly found that I did not really care for the musical too much. Being a part of an array of musicals in high school, I completely understand the amount of work and effort it takes to put together a musical of this caliber. Admittedly, I actually had no issue with the acting throughout Act I, and even though most of the satire and jokes seemed forced, I did giggle a few times (not enough for my liking, though). Hell, I did not even mind the fact that the genre of the music seemed to be a mixture of bluegrass and country, even though I do not really care for either one of those genres.
Now, my cavalier attitude towards this period satire may have something to do with my recent viewing of Nate Parker’s “The Birth of a Nation” because since watching that film, I only seem to want to see period pieces with black people either in a position of power or at least exerting the little power that they may have had during that time.
My main issue with the “Big River” musical was simply the singing. In fact, I disliked the singing so much that I was the first to leave the theatre during intermission, and I did not return to watch Act II. And I know I will probably be scorned for my opinion on this musical, but the fact remains that musicals can be a really great way to comment on societal issues that have happened in human history, but only if the musical has great actors and great singers.
The ESU theatre department seems to only have one of those two things, and “Big River” suffered because of it.