EMPTY Theater’s 24-Hour Musical, or as Mrs. Darbus would say, the twenty-four-hour “MUSSICAAAAL,” was on Sept. 26, 2024. It was a delight to watch — but also sounded like a delight to be a part of.
The theater experience — which started at 8 p.m. Friday and ended with a performance of “High School Musical” at 8 p.m. the following Saturday — left audiences both wowed and hysterically laughing. From improvised lines to fully memorized ballads, this musical was a smashing success. Many times throughout the musical, I found myself in awe about the fact that it was only made in 24 hours. There were minimal slip-ups, and the wonderful chemistry between the actors made the whole experience breathtaking.
Besides the performance being incredible, the experience making of the musical was also a blast, according to many of the castmates. Kiran Tator ՚27 who played Jack Scott, said they really enjoyed their role in the experience. As a non-theater major with a busy schedule, the 24-Hour Musical gave Tator the ability to toy around with theater without a crazy time commitment, quite literally.
This, along with EMPTY Theater’s dedication, made it so that the whole production was a seamless 24-hour experience. This dedication was very much seen and appreciated by the audience, because just a week later, the organization ranked very high in the Here For The Hill fundraising challenge. It was wonderful to see how dedicated these actors were, but also how much people appreciated it, given the packed house that night. The comedy, the set, and the memorized lines that seemed like they took weeks of rehearsals to get all came together to create an unforgettable show, and I can’t wait to see the next one!
