Murderers, innkeepers, a sea witch and more: Perpich Arts High School will soon present “What it Takes!”
Five musical theater and one media student make up the six-person ensemble for an original musical review. Students picked showtunes and wrote “patter,” which is a bit of dialogue to connect each song. The performance centers on misunderstood or perhaps evil characters, reimagined.
“We have a lot of characters that are often seen as bad characters or villains,” Greta Kunene, junior from Fountain, told the Sun Post. “But in the show we really explore if they really were bad or if they were just doing what they had to to get by in the situation.”
Wajiru Njora, senior from Brooklyn Center, said although there isn’t a definitive answer as to whether the characters are villains, “it makes you think.”
“You come up with your own answer,” Kunene said.
The show opens with “Cell Block Tango” from “Chicago.” In the original song, the one innocent character speaks Hungarian. In the Perpich version, this was translated into Spanish.
“She speaks Hungarian; I can’t speak Hungarian, but I am Puerto Rican so I can speak Spanish,” Ian Garrido-Lavender, junior from Maple Grove, explained. “... I always say, no matter what character I’m playing, I’m Puerto Rican and trans, unless it’s specifically stated otherwise.”
“I feel like I do that subconsciously,” said Abbi McCabe, a junior from Hibbing. “Every character I’ve ever played has been a lesbian.”
Students are putting a lot of themselves in the show.
“We are allowed to have so much input,” Garrido-Lavender said. “And with this class specifically, it is all about us creating it ourselves.”
“Quite literally, we do direct the show,” McCabe added. “Like, writing the patter, figuring out our songs, who wants to do what.”
Students are exploring perceptions on gender as well.
“We have mostly a feminine presence or a feminine take on these songs, which I think provides a unique experience on ‘What it Takes,’ kind of like ‘What it Takes: to be a Woman’ almost,” McCabe said. “Having AFAB [assigned female at birth] people or feminine-presenting people do male songs I think is really powerful because it gives it a totally new perspective.”
One of McCabe’s songs is “Lonely Room” from “Oklahoma!”
“[It’s] A song about a man and how lonely he is and how horribly mistreated he is and how outcasted he is,” McCabe said. “But when it’s told from a female perspective, I feel like it gives it a whole new depth, because women are so used to that and they’re so oppressed, a lot of them are so oppressed in society nowadays. It just creates a whole new vibe to the song and a deeper understanding that – Perpich is primarily female – that Perpich can relate to.”
Margaret Loxtercamp, a senior from Bemidji, plays the witch from “Into the Woods.” Audiences might try to decide whether she is innocent or justified in her actions.
“She’s doing ‘What it Takes’ to get what she wants, and she had things stolen from her,” Loxtercamp said.
Charli Pederson, junior from Delano, said each song allows the character to defend themselves, saying “I only did what I did to get what I want.”
“There’s a second side to the story,” Loxtercamp added.
There are many other songs, including ones from “The Whiz,” “Bring it On” and “Les Misérables.”
The show will run 7 p.m. Thursday, May 2, and Friday, May 3, at Peprich Arts High School, 6125 Olson Memorial Highway, Golden Valley. It is free and recommended for audiences age 14 and up.
Other free events this spring
Spring is busy time for the arts school, and each department has its own showcase.
Media and visual artists will present a Studio Arts Exhibition 5 p.m. Thursday, May 9.
The dance program will present “Sense of Self, Sense of Belonging” 7 p.m. Thursday, May 9, and Friday, May 10.
A literary arts reading will be 7 p.m. Wednesday, May 15. This one will be outside of Perpich at the Open Book art center, 1011 S. Washington Ave. #101, Minneapolis.
The music department’s Sound Works will be 3:45 p.m. Thursday, May 16, and 7 p.m. Friday, May 17.
The Senior Theater Capstone Performances will be 7 p.m. Thursday, May 16, and 3:45 p.m. Friday, May 17.
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