UWF Department of Theatre presents ‘The Marvelous Wonderettes’
The University of West Florida Department of Theatre presents the musical “The Marvelous Wonderettes.” Performances will be held September 22-24 and September 29, 30 and October 1 with shows at 7:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and 2:30 p.m. on Sunday. All performances will take place in the Besser Studio Theatre of the Center for Fine and Performing Arts, Building 82, on the Pensacola campus.
Take a step back in time with this wonderful Jukebox musical. Follow Betty Jean, Cindy Lou, Missy and Suzy at their Senior Prom for Springfield High School in 1958 as the four best friends look to their future and how all their hopes and dreams will come true. We next meet them as they perform for their 10-year reunion. As always, life never really turns out exactly the way that we imagined it but true friends are eternal. Featuring hit songs from the ’50s and ’60s, The Marvelous Wonderettes is a nostalgia-packed show that will have you singing and dancing in your seats.
Director, Sara Schoch, leads the team of UWF students in this production. She is an assistant professor teaching musical theater. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Musical Theatre from the State University of New York at Fredonia and a Master of Fine Arts in Acting from Brandeis University.
Schoch is an award-winning actress who combines her 15 years of musical theater experience with her passion for teaching students the techniques of the profession.
In 2015, she was recognized by the city of Boston as a certified artist, a designation given to artists who have substantial talent and whose vast body of work contributes significantly to the arts in Boston and the state as a whole. She is also a two-time winner and four-time nominee for the New Hampshire Theatre Award for Best Actress in a Musical, which she won in 2012 for her performance as Mother in “Ragtime.”
As a professional actress, Schoch is continuously honing her craft. She has appeared in more than 150 professional productions and worked with many Broadway veterans, including Marc Kudish, Kerry O’Malley, Rob Gallagher, Raymond Sage, Robbie Sella and the legendary Jack Dabdoub. She played Jenny Hill in the premiere of Andrew Lippa’s “Big Fish,” rewritten by Lippa and screenwriter John August for a smaller cast in regional theaters. Her other production highlights include playing Cathy in “The Last 5 Years” (Artie nomination), Roxie in “Chicago,” Kate/Lilli in “Kiss me, Kate!” (New Hampshire nomination), Christine in “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels” (New Hampshire nomination) and Julie in “Some Enchanted Evening” (Joseph Jefferson nomination).
Some of her students and mentees have appeared in the Broadway productions of “Aladdin,” “Finding Neverland,” “Les Miserables” and the revival of “The Color Purple.”
General admission ticket prices are $20 per person for adults, $16 per person for senior citizens and active military, $14 per person for non-UWF students and UWF faculty and staff, and $7 for high school students. UWF students are admitted free with their Nautilus cards.
Tickets can be purchased at the CFPA Box Office, Building 82, by calling 850.857.6285 or online at uwf.edu/tickets. Due to the configuration of the seating area, once the play has started, no one will be allowed to enter the space until intermission.
Due to adult subject matter, this show may not be appropriate for all audiences.