Office of Public Relations
Missouri Baptist University
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Saint Louis, Missouri 63141-8698
314.392.2307 / fax 314.392.2265
www.mobap.edu / pr@mobap.edu
For Immediate Release
RE: Curtain Call: MBU senior directs first-ever student production
Curtain Call: MBU senior directs first-ever student production
July 17, 2006
Wednesday, Jan. 18 at 2:30 p.m.
It was a mere fifty-three hours until the cast of MBU’s first student produced musical, You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, made history.
For MBU senior Leann Thompson, director of the unprecedented production, those dwindling hours were like the funds in most college students’ bank accounts: extremely coveted and quickly depleting.
As students lined up outside MBU’s Box Office on the unusually warm afternoon in January––hoping to get their hands on the limited number of tickets available––Leann was busy.
Really busy.
“I know she was making a run to Home Depot to pick some things up for the set and then she was going to come back to campus to get a few things done,” said Seth Carruthers, the show’s musical director. “And we have practice again tonight, so she’ll probably be here until midnight or so.”
For the first time in the University’s existence, a host of MBU students––not MBU staff or faculty––were ultimately responsible for this musical’s outcome, from the set-design and costuming to musical direction and casting.
And Leann was at the helm.
Midnight practices and runs to local hardware stores had become routine for the Fayette, Mo. native. Ever since she returned to school from Christmas break, she had been working around the clock to ensure the premiere of MBU’s first student production was a success. In fact with one exception, the cast had gathered inside the Dale Williams Fine Arts Center and Pillsbury Chapel Recital Hall for hours every evening since Christmas to intensely practice for opening night.
“I am so appreciative of the fact that this cast and crew are so very committed to this show,” said Leann. “I have a long, long list of things to do, but I think we’ll get it done.”
She knew her dedicated crew and cast were talented. But would they be ready for opening night in two days? Would it be a flop? Would it sell out? Would the set be done? Would Snoopy, portrayed by a talented yet novice dancer, be able to pull off a challenging tap dance routine in Act II?
In fifty-three hours––like it or not––Leann would have her answers. Until then, she’d keep working.
Friday, Jan. 20 at noon
After months of preparing, weeks of directing and, most recently, days of little or no sleep, the minute Leann had long been waiting for was only hours away. The musical’s debut was set for 7:30 p.m.
Waiting outside a broadcasting studio at the Emerson YMCA, a weary yet excited Leann was minutes away from promoting the musical on MBU’s radio station, 89.7 FM The Wave. The last minute promotional blitz could help push ticket sales to near sell out status, Leann hoped.
After all, the Peanuts comic strip turned musical had already generated quite a buzz on campus.
“I am kind of amazed how great everything is going,” she said, as she leaned against a wall. “There haven’t really been any big scares. None of the cast members have gotten sick. We did take a break one day because it was apparent that the cast members were vocally exhausted.”
Despite a growing list of things to do before the debut performance––another trip to Wal-Mart and last minute costume alterations––Leann was seemingly calm, and for good reason. At twenty-two, Leann’s appeared in numerous MBU productions and works part time for a local theater company. She’s even directed a production before, although it wasn’t as intense as MBU’s You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown.
By all accounts, Leann was ready for 7:30.
Friday, Jan. 20 at 3 p.m.
Leann received the good news as she was making a few final alterations to Sally Brown’s costume inside a greenroom in the Pillsbury Chapel and Dale Williams Fine Arts Center. The first show of MBU’s first student production was a sellout.
“I guess I am not too terribly surprised,” she admitted, sewing a final button on Sally’s pink polka dotted dress. “I think this is going to be a great performance and it is apparent that the excitement has really caught on.”
But with a sellout audience, Leann knew the level of expectation would be raised to a new bar. Even after casting a talented group of MBU students and working for weeks to make sure the cast was prepared for the musical’s debut, a few nerving thoughts loomed.
“I know they’re ready,” she said. “But I know that every performance I’ll be sitting in the audience, thinking about whether or not they would get the page turned for the pianist or if they pick up the prop or if they hit the high note. Honestly, you can’t pull off this musical without a good cast. But as a director, I am still going to worry.”
But with only three and a half hours remaining, Leann knew that the cast was either ready or not. And at that late hour, MBU’s first student director was anxiously ready for the show’s opening night to get underway.
“I feel like I’ve been very blessed to be able to be part of this production,” she said. “To have my name associated with this MBU first is quite an honor.”
After all, Leann began her theatrical journey at MBU five years prior, albeit on a much smaller stage in the former Delozier Chapel located on the lower level of the Thomas S. Field Academic Hall.
MBU’s evolving theater program is exponentially larger than it was when she began her college career. Since Leann came to MBU, the theater program has continued to take on difficult, elaborate productions and has garnered acclaim for its shows.
The audiences are bigger, too.
Friday, Jan. 20 at 7:30 p.m.
The lights went down and the collective whispers of a jam-packed Dale Williams Fine Arts Center and Pillsbury Chapel Recital Hall hushed.
The silence didn’t last long. From the opening song to the ending note, Charlie Brown and his notorious gang had the audience in stitches with their songs, witty one-liners and unforgettable dance steps.
Sitting with the audience, Leann tried to enjoy the memorable event. But in reality, she waited for the musical’s debut to end. One show down. Two to go.
“I think it was a great success,” Leann said. “I really think the audience loved it and the cast had a great time.”
The rest of the musical’s performances mimicked Friday night’s debut. Ticket sales reached sellout status for nearly every performance. The droves of people in attendance left remembering the endearing childhood lessons that only America’s favorite comic strip can teach. Once again, MBU’s theater program, made history.
And for Leann, the production served as an unforgettable capstone, a sort of curtain call, for the invaluable lessons she’s learned at MBU.
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Missouri Baptist University is a premier Christian university in Saint Louis, offering graduate and undergraduate studies in over thirty specialized fields and nine degrees. MBU's education and fine arts programs are nationally known in addition to business, religion, administration of justice, and more. MBU is one of the fastest growing higher education institutions in Missouri with an enrollment of over 4,500 students at five locations in the bi-state region — West County, Lincoln County, Jefferson County, Franklin County and the new Illinois extension at Lewis and Clark Community College.
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