Until March 29th, Rushed Productions is presenting the premiere of Sigma Acapella by Annahis Basmadjian at the Jack and Darlene Poole Theatre at Arts Umbrella on Granville Island.
What happens when you mix a University Frat Bro and a Theatre Dad with their respective followers, throw in a nefarious Dean and the potential for homelessness? Sigma Acapella, packs a lot into its nearly 3 hours; a new musical score by Composer and Lyricist, Sebastian Ochoa Mendoza, an original script and story. Set at a University Campus that has declared all unnecessary clubs and fraternities soon face the wrecking ball, one frat of outcasts steps up to fight back.
The leader of the Arms House Frat, Ray (played by the charismatic Nathan Mannion Haastrup), cares for his misfit club and won’t let them be cast aside by the university. Finding a loophole and devising a ‘Frat Plan’ that would allow them to stay if they were the Open Arms House a new Musical Arts Centre, but even with this raddest of plans, they find they can’t do it alone. Enter The Nobodies, an equally outcast bunch of theatre geeks, and their Theatre Dad, Oliver (played with Open heart by Blake Sartin). Together, the two disparate groups work together to create a brand new musical within the musical “Sigma Acapella” much to the consternation of Dean Guy (played with tongue-in-cheek enthusiasm by Pavo Schimmer) who wants to build his Elite University housing on the site.
Annahis Basmadjian’s script is packed characters, some light-hearted comedy and a slew of pop and theatre easter eggs, some of each trying too hard to be noticed amongst the crowd. Director Kate Ely makes the most of the intimate Jack and Darlene Poole Theatre with simple staging and sets.
Joining the cast onstage to perform the score live is a four piece band of Samuel Gilmore (Musical Director/Guitarist), Yotam Ronen (Bassist), Alexander Maryan (Drummer), and TeeTaan (Pianist). With up to two dozen performers filling the stage and even more characters, it can get difficult for any actor to stand out which creates a good ensemble team but as some are playing multiple characters made it hard for the audience to follow at times. Perhaps trimming a few characters would allow more time for others and tighten up the overall run time to keep a more snappy pace. Due to acoustics of the theatre, and perhaps a case of opening night nerves being so close to the audience, some players seemed to rein in their solo vocals to a whisper while the group numbers brought a brilliant sound. The creative story, and catchy tunes have all the potential of a fun musical that would give anyone who has felt like an outcast a sense of belonging.
Rushes Productions’ Sigma Acapella by Annahis Basmadjian runs until March 29, 2024 at the Jack and Darlene Poole Theatre at Arts Umbrella on Granville Island. Find tickets and showtimes online