Players “muppet-bounded,” using colors and different articles of clothing instead of full costume to resemble muppets. SADIE FOX PHOTOGRAPHY / COURTESY
Mary Haley, Marketing Chair/Asst. Features Editor
Manhattan University Players kicked off another sing-songy semester with a cabaret unique to the school community: The Muppets Take Manhattan University. Owen Sweeney, director of the cabaret, brought the Muppets to campus through nostalgic numbers like “Together Again,” “Movin’ Right Along,” “Man or Muppet” and “Rainbow Connection.”
According to the cabaret’s program handed out at the beginning of the show, this was Sweeney’s first time directing in the Black Box, including some of the show’s set design, lighting and even writing the second act of the play’s script. He was described as being, “proud to be a member of such an outstanding club and to be leading such a talented cast in this production.”
Freshmen Sophia Whitmore and Natali Runles spoke to The Quadrangle about how this production marks their very first Players experience. Both came in as general members with ensemble roles, but quickly found themselves playing a mix of characters including Miss Piggy, Scooter, Fozzie Bear, Electric Mayhem band members and even members of the Cratchit family.
There were no puppet suits in this cabaret. Instead, the cast relied on what Runles calls “Muppet-bounding,” a play on Disney-bounding: costumes built from colors and accessories to resemble characters without fully dressing as them.
“You can immediately tell who’s supposed to be Miss Piggy or Kermit,” Runles said. “It’s modern, but still very Muppets.”
Due to student-run Black Box shows and mainstage rehearsals overlapping, rehearsals for both productions were hard to schedule, with practices regularly stretched until midnight. Despite the late hours, rehearsals were a way for these new members to be introduced to what they can expect from the Players atmosphere.
“I was honestly just excited for the experience,” Runles said. “I know that the student-run stuff is more low-key, which was a good introduction.”
The choreography was an important factor going into the execution of the story. Many cast members had to practice cartwheels, death drops and double left pirouettes that, for some, became one of the hardest challenges of the show.
SADIE FOX PHOTOGRAPHY / COURTESY
“The whole show’s choreography is insane,” Whitmore said. “You’d think a student-run cabaret would be simple, but some numbers are full-on productions.”
Freshman political science major Lucas Long also made his Players debut through the cabaret. He had an extensive background in theater before college, although he had never done a cabaret previously. In the show, Long played multiple characters, including Fozzie Bear, Dr. Bunsen, and the cloaked Ghost of Christmas Present. For him, the biggest challenge was adjusting to the Black Box, where the audience surrounds the performers on almost all sides.
“In theater, you’re taught to always face the audience,” Long said. “But when the audience is everywhere, you have to retrain your brain. There is no front.”
Long says that Players was one of the main reasons he chose MU. He wanted a theater community that wasn’t overly competitive, but still passionate, creative and fun. After working on the Muppets cabaret, he said the experience confirmed he made the right choice.
“I think I just love that the creative direction was just, ‘yeah, we’re Muppets, but we’re also just people and let’s not do overkill with this,’” Long said. “It’s the same thing with the set with how we’re in the Black Box, which is not a traditional theater. So it’s like, this is what we have to do with the set to make it work.”