| Type: | Non-profit 501(c)(3) |
| Purpose: | Musical theatre |
| Location: | Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois |
| Affiliations: | Virginia Wadsworth Wirtz Center for the Performing Arts |
The Waa-Mu Show; ; is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization within Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, that produces student written, orchestrated, produced, and performed original musical theatre work every year. The song lyrics, script, and music are developed in a series of classes.[1] It is the institution's longest standing theatrical tradition and is held in Cahn Auditorium on Northwestern's campus. This tradition began as a musical revue, showcasing several different student-written Northwestern-inspired vignettes connected by one single theme.[2] By 2013, the Waa-Mu show evolved into an original full-length musical.[3]
The first Waa-Mu show took place in 1929. A senior Northwestern student Joseph W. Miller and his classmate Darrell Ware wrote the script for and staged the college musical comedy that became "The Waa-Mu Show," the first co-educational college musical show. The Women's Athletic Association (WAA) and the Men's Union (MU) collaborated to put on the first show. The name "Waa-Mu" is derived from the synthesis of the two groups' acronyms.
The WAA had been staging popular all-female musical comedies since 1912; the MU had presented less successful all-male comic operas for a number of years prior to 1929. Both men's and women's shows had been losing money and Miller and Ware raised $1,200 by borrowing $5 a piece from interested students to finance the first show. It also was Miller's and Ware's idea to feature both male and female students in their premiere production. At first, the female WAA committee was reluctant about sharing the stage with the male Mu members, but they eventually agreed to combine talents. The premiere show that Miller and Ware collaborated on was Good Morning Glory. The Daily Northwestern wrote, "Campus interest is the highest yet for any single dramatic activity in University history." This review prompted the producers to begin formulating and writing the following year's show. Walter Kerr was the principal writer for the 1936 musical revue entitled It Goes to Show. Kerr graduated the following year and eventually become a famous theatre critic for the New York Times. After graduating in 1929, Joe Miller stayed at Northwestern to do graduate work in personnel administration, and Darrell Ware went to Hollywood to write screenplays. In 1931 Northwestern president Walter Dill Scott offered Miller a position on the university's staff as Freshman Advisor and Waa-Mu Director.[4]
In 1938, Waa-Mu board members were not pleased with that year's student-written script. Instead, they staged George Gershwin's musical Of Thee I Sing, about a presidential candidate who promises to bring more love to the White House. Actor Tony Randall (who was then known as Leonard Rosenberg), portrayed a boisterous Texas congressman in the production.[5] Only three times in Waa-Mu's history has non-original material been presented; in 1935 with Ray Henderson's musical Good News, in 1938, with George Gershwin's musical Of Thee I Sing, and in 1993 with Leonard Bernstein's musical On the Town.
Waa-Mu went on hiatus during the World War II years, but was re-launched in 1946. During the three-year break, profits from previous Waa-Mu productions were invested in war bonds. Miller directed the Waa-Mu Show until 1975; his last show was Quick Change. He retired on August 31, 1975 and died in 1979. Tom Roland succeeded Miller as the second director of the Waa-Mu productions in 1976. Occasionally, Waa-Mu has been performed off-campus. The show traveled to Chicago several times after its Evanston run, most notably in 1931 (at the Civic Theatre in Chicago) and 1933. And renowned orchestra leader Fred Waring played original Waa-Mu songs on the radio in 1951.
Waa-Mu performances have been presented at Cahn Auditorium since its 1941 production, Wait A Minute, premiering on the new stage the same year that Scott Hall was completed. Before performances began in Cahn Auditorium, Waa-Mu productions were held at and around the Evanston area, at the New Evanston Theatre and the National College of Education.
Several different positions and sub-groups with distinct responsibilities exist within the institution to ease the process of creating an original musical each year. They include:
Program Head: A staff member of the Theatre & Interpretation Center who leads the creation process and makes all final decisions. The Program Head is typically the director of the production as well.
Co-Chairs: The student leaders of the organization who work alongside the Program Head to make decisions about creative and administrative matters.
Writing Coordinators: The student leaders who are in charge of generating and combining material to form a cohesive script for the show.
Executive Board: A group of students who work under the Co-Chairs to handle all administrative, financial and organizational needs.
Creating the Musical Class: A large group of students enrolled in a winter class who generate material for the show including: the script, songs, and lyrics.
Orchestrating the Musical Class: A group of students enrolled in a winter class who generate orchestrations for the show; many of whom go on to join Team Music.
Team Music: A group of students led by the Music Director that creates all of the orchestrations for the songs generated in the Creating the Musical class as well as the incidental music and overture.
The Secret Of Camp Elliott premiered digitally in June 2021.
State of the Art was originally set to open on May 1, 2020. On March 13, 2020, the co-chairs decided to cancel the final reading of the show before it was set to go into rehearsal later that month due to concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic. In-person classes were suspended by the university, and it became clear that a performance as usual in Cahn Auditorium would not be possible. The team quickly pivoted to online rehearsals and soon decided to have an online presentation. State of the Art thus became the first-ever new musical to be presented live over Zoom to an international audience. Tony Award-winning Broadway producer Ken Davenport featured an article by the co-chairs on his blog, and Larson Award winner Ryan Cunningham also wrote an article about the process.[6] [7] [8]
The 2019 production followed a female Chicago journalist embarking on a project to create obituaries for history’s most incredible women, including mathematician and cryptanalyst Gene Grabeel, French swordswoman and opera singer Julie d’Aubigny, and early civil rights leader Ida B. Wells. Inspired by the real life Overlooked (obituary feature), initiated by Amy Padnani at the New York Times.[9]
The 2016 performance was titled Another Way West. The story follows a female researcher, accompanied by her nieces and nephews, on the Oregon Trail searching for her late ancestor. This show merges the journeys of both the researcher and her ancestor on the Oregon Trail.
In 2015, the students put on Gold, based on the 1936 Olympics. The plot centered around journalists sent to report about the Olympics, specifically focusing on the US Basketball Team, the US Swim Team, and the US Track and Field Team. Opening night for the show was May 1, 2015.[10]
Inspired by the Shakespeare play, Twelfth Night, the 2014 Waa-Mu Show was Double Feature at Hollywood and Vine. The protagonist, Viola, disguises herself as a man in order to find fame as an actor in the 1930s. Opening night for the show was May 2, 2014.[11]
The performance in 2013 entitled, Flying Home, combined the ideas of three very well known productions, Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland, and The Wizard of Oz. The main theme of this production is about adolescents leaving home and developing throughout college. Opening night for this performance was May 3, 2013.[12]
| Year | Show | Co-Chairs | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Romance En Route | Francis Brenner, Mitchell Huntley, Daniel Maton, Madeline Oberle | |
| 2022 | A Peculiar Inheritance | Daniel Maton, Madeline Oberle | |
| 2021 | The Secret of Camp Elliott | Anna Beaubien, Pallas Gutierrez, Jessica Nekritz | |
| 2020 | State of the Art | Emma Griffone, Leo Jared Scheck, Jonathan Toussaint, Olivia Worley | |
| 2019 | For the Record | Gabriella Green, Ziare Paul-Emile, Alexander Rothfield, Lindsay Whisler | |
| 2018 | Manhattan Miracle | Maxwell Beer, Kaja Burke-Williams, Sarah Ohlson, Andrew Restieri | |
| 2017 | Beyond Belief: A Superhero Story | Jessie Jennison, Charlotte Morris, Eric Peters, Justin Tepper | |
| 2016 | Another Way West | Myrna Conn, Fergus Inder, Charlie Oh, Elizabeth Romero | |
| 2015 | Gold | Hannah Dunn, Kylie Mullins, Max Rein | |
| 2014 | Double Feature At Hollywood And Vine | Ryan Bernsten, Ryan Garson, Desiree Staples | |
| 2013 | Flying Home | Jack Mitchell, Jesse Rothschild, Ed Wasserman | |
| 2012 | Off The Map | Jon Harrison, Rachel Shapiro, Patrick Sulken | |
| 2011 | What's Next | Melissa Lynch, Liz Olanoff | |
| 2010 | Keeping Time | RB Embleton, Lindsay Powell | |
| 2009 | One For The Books | Julia Beck, Kaitlin Fine, Cara Rifkin, Eugenio Vargas | |
| 2008 | Skylines | Kristin Johnson, Maureen Rohn | |
| 2007 | The Club | Amanda Krieg, Justin Mann | |
| 2006 | Jubilee! | Antonette Balestreri, Liz Kimball, Charlie Siebert | |
| 2005 | Waiting In The Wings | Alan Schmuckler, Claire Wilmoth, Jarrod Zimmerman | |
| 2004 | POMP And Circumstance | Kenneth Ferrone, Michael Mahler, Jessica Scholl | |
| 2003 | This Just In... | Amber Makalous, Christine Mild, Joe Schenck | |
| 2002 | Are We There Yet? | Andrew Hotz, Emily Price, Kevin Vortmann | |
| 2001 | Sorry, We're Booked | Jen Bender, Dan Brintz | |
| 2000 | Past Perfect Future Tense | Mark Ledbetter, Anne E. Mannal | |
| 1999 | New York, NU York | Matt Dudley, Kate Shindle, Kate Strohbehn | |
| 1998 | Stay Tuned! | Meredith McDonough, Ian Roth | |
| 1997 | All Grown Up! | Dan Lipton, Randy Meyer | |
| 1996 | Timeless | Sloan Just, Kristofer McNeeley | |
| 1995 | Rites Of Spring | Zeena Hamir, Jordan G. Neiman | |
| 1994 | Lost & Found | Chad Borden, Matthew Meltzer, Alison Sneegas | |
| 1993 | On The Town* | Chad Borden, Jason Cochran, Jennifer Gordon | |
| 1992 | Hello, Big Time | Keith Everett, Richard Segall, Julie Williams | |
| 1991 | Sign Me Up | Lisa Cavallari, Thomas Hoegh, Becca Kaufman, Matthew Mailman, Eric Saiet | |
| 1990 | It's About Time | Thomas Hoegh, Brian d'Arcy James, Jody Plotkin, Brayer Teague, Todd Wadhams | |
| 1989 | Throw Me A Line! | Brian Elliott, Stephen Gundersheim, Brian d'Arcy James, Jody Plotkin, Amanda Rogers | |
| 1988 | What's In A Game? | Scott Benjaminson, Mark Ledogar, Lori Longstreth | |
| 1987 | With A Twist | Martin Drobac, Laverne McKinnon, Scott Zacher | |
| 1986 | Star-Craving Mad | John E. Kolb, Robert R. Walther | |
| 1985 | Sumthing's Up | Richard Feldman, Janet Ponsiglione | |
| 1984 | Suitable For Framing | Paul F. Burtis, Douglas T. Toth | |
| 1983 | Wake The Neighbors, Phone The Dog | Thaddeus A. Gentry, Dale S. Rieling | |
| 1982 | Out On A Whim | Richard Heimler, Jodi Weinstein | |
| 1981 | To The Memories | Fred Hanson, Jon Nakagawa | |
| 1980 | Gimme A Break | John Burley, Nina Skriloff | |
| 1979 | Cover To Cover | Winifred Freedman, Johan Sauer | |
| 1978 | Wake Me At Eight | Robert Banks, Betsy Greene | |
| 1977 | Wild Onions | Betsy Greene, Michael Higgins | |
| 1976 | That's The Spirit | Philip Curley, Susan Socolowski | |
| 1975 | Quick Change | Erik Haagensen, Suzanne Thomas | |
| 1974 | Keep In Touch | Anne Arkin, Bryan England | |
| 1973 | Kicks | Kathryn Blind, Daniel Connolly | |
| 1972 | 72 Flavors | Denise Jarrett, William J. Wilson | |
| 1971 | Thanks A Lot | Estelle Danish, Andrew Harris (stopped 75% student ticket plan) | |
| 1970 | Booster Shot | Sandra Holland, Michael Meagher | |
| 1969 | Present Tense | Murray Dawson, Barbara Lehner | |
| 1968 | The Natives Are Restless | Frank Corbin, Barbara Klages | |
| 1967 | You'll Get Used To It | Louis Magor, Marilyn McGredy | |
| 1966 | Strings & Things | Patricia Baggs, Dwight Frindt | |
| 1965 | Promise Not To Tell | Edward Euler, Judith Pinkerton | |
| 1964 | Something In The Wind | Sue Ramaker, Robert Strunk | |
| 1963 | Mud In Your Eye | Michael Griffith, Carole Shirreffs | |
| 1962 | Signs Of Life | Robert Bonges, Karla Herbold | |
| 1961 | Don't Make A Scene | Bruce Burmester, Virginia Jung | |
| 1960 | Among Friends | Elizabeth Wehde, William J. White | |
| 1959 | Good Grief | Glenna Arnold, John Gerber | |
| 1958 | Sing No Evil | Richard Kissel, Carolyn Robson | |
| 1957 | Caught In The Act | Carol Beachler, Ronald Church | |
| 1956 | Silver Jubilee | Jon Larson, Ann Palmer | |
| 1955 | High Time | Joyce Lemon, Jeremy Wilson | |
| 1954 | See Here | Robert Magee, Jane Taylor | |
| 1953 | Reach For The Sky | Rosetta Beamer, Allan Bowermaster | |
| 1952 | Taxi, Please | Leona Iwaniec, G. Allan West | |
| 1951 | That Reminds Me | Carol Anderson, William G. Whitney | |
| 1950 | Look Who's Talking | Jane Harr, John F. Hayford | |
| 1949 | What's The Rush | Nancy Henninger, Cliff Mezey | |
| 1948 | See How They Run | Walt Kemp, A. Rae Womble | |
| 1947 | Break The News | Pete Peterson, Juanita Richards | |
| 1946 | Here We Go Again | Doris Helm, Max Myover | |
| 1943, 1944, 1945 | (No Production) | Waa-Mu suspends performances during World War II years. Previous show profits invested in war bonds. | |
| 1942 | Wish You Were Here | Bev Coffman, Dick Jager | |
| 1941 | Wait A Minute | William Barr, Janice Raymond | |
| 1940 | Here's Your Party | Don J. Ramaker, Frances F. Whittemore (adapted the revue format officially) | |
| 1939 | Guess Again | Al Hickox, Ruth Marcus | |
| 1938 | Of Thee I Sing* | Betsy Garrison, George Kemp | |
| 1937 | Don't Look Now | Robert W. Grant Jr., Ruth Hoagland | |
| 1936 | It Goes To Show | Clay Hoffer, Frank Seyl | |
| 1935 | Good News* | Robert Goman, Zaida Hutchins | |
| 1934 | Sweet Music | Virginia Cleaveland, Charles Southward | |
| 1933 | Hats Off | Robert McManus, Virginia Stone | |
| 1932 | Step This Way | Eloise Barclay, Howard Packard | |
| 1931 | Many Thanks | Jack Leach, Avis Lundahl | |
| 1930 | Whoa There | Ethel Finn, Preston Weir (sold to Universal Pictures; Life Begins At College) | |
| 1929 | Good Morning Glory | Lois Stewart, Darrell Ware |