Western goes back in time for "The Marvelous Wonderettes"

When people step into the gym at Western Wyoming Community College this weekend, they'll also be stepping back in time to the 1950s and 60s, and stepping into a world full of music, drama, and fun. 

An immersive production

The Western Theater Program's first production of the semester is "The Marvelous Wonderettes," and it is being performed not in the theater but in Rushmore Gymnasium, bringing the audience into the world of the show. The musical tells the story of four girls performing at their high school prom in 1959 under the name the "Marvelous Wonderettes." They sing classic hits from the 50s, like "Lollipop," "Mr. Sandman," and "Dream Lover," all while dealing with their own interpersonal relationships. Ten years later - or after a 15 minute intermission for the audience - the girls are brought together again for their high school reunion, now in 1969, performing hits like  "Respect," "It's My Party," and "You Don't Own Me." 

To fully capture the environment and spirit of the story, Director Anthony Romeo-Adcock had the idea of performing the show in an actual gymnasium. He originally wanted to use the auxiliary gym at the college, but when he talked to Athletics Director Lu Sweet, she insisted they use the main gym. 

"So we're actually going to be decorating the outside of the gym and the inside of the gym like a prom in 1959," Romeo-Adcock explained. "It's going to be completely immersive. I'm hoping people get up and dance." 

Not only did he want to take advantage of Western's campus for staging the musical, but Romeo-Adcock also wanted to tie the story into the college's history. The original script has the story taking place in 1958 and 1968. However, the Western theater department went to great lengths to bump the dates forward by one year to line up with Western's founding. 

"We had to reach out to the rights holders and get permission to change all of the dates, because we wanted it to match the 65th anniversary of Western," Romeo-Adcock explained. "They usually don't do that very much, so it was great that they understood the situation and how we're trying to make it all cohesive."

Being able to connect the story of the musical to the community college was an extra bonus on top of doing the production in the first place, which for Romeo-Adcock is something he's been wanting to do for a while. He explained that he saw the musical three times when it was performed Off Broadway. The show had a long run both there and in California, but hasn't made its way to this region yet, so Romeo-Adcock knew right away that he wanted to put it on.

"It's my guilty pleasure show, and I'm really excited to bring it out here," he said. 

The show was also a practical pick for the theater department. Their next musical, coming up in November, will be "Anastasia," which is a large production with lots of male cast members. Because "The Marvelous Wonderettes" has a very small, female-centric cast, it provided a good balance for the season, as well as the workload of the students. 

"We also want to make sure that we're giving a complete education to our students, to make sure that throughout the course of the year they're getting to do multiple kinds of musicals," Romeo-Adcock added. "We really wanted to make sure that we were choosing material that was going to work educationally for everybody involved, but hopefully stuff that the community was going to want to come see and be a part of as well."

A new director

For Romeo-Adcock, "The Marvelous Wonderettes" is not just the first show of the semester, it's also his first show at Western and the beginning of his journey as a faculty member in the theater department. After the retirement of previous Theater Professor Eric de Lora earlier this year, Romeo-Adcock was hired to join the department as an Assistant Professor in Musical Theater with an Emphasis in Dance. 

Romeo-Adcock grew up in Pennsylvania, where he also got his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Musical Theater Performance from Pennsylvania State University. He worked at resorts in the Poconos before moving to New York, where he did Off Broadway shows and was part of the national tours of "Seussical the Musical" and "Children's Letters to God." Eventually he moved to Florida, where he taught competition dance, opened an acting school, taught at a high school, and became the director of a performing arts academy.

In July, Romeo-Adcock made the move to Wyoming, which he admits has been "a huge change," especially since the area of Florida he moved from has the same population as the entire state of Wyoming. In addition to being in a new area he's not familiar with, being at a new school with its own programs and traditions and ways of doing things, which are sometimes different from his own, has presented challenges, according to Romeo-Adcock. He also hit the ground running, with auditions the second day of classes and rehearsals starting by the end of the first week. 

"I would be lying if I didn't say it was overwhelming at times, but I'm having a blast," he said. 

Both the students and his fellow faculty members in the department have been open and welcoming, according to Romeo-Adcock, and he's excited to be a part of it. 

"I love being at the college, I love working with these students, I love what this program has to offer," he said. 

One difference in the change from Florida to Wyoming is going from an area that is almost oversaturated with theater to going to an area where opportunities are more limited and spread out, Romeo-Adcock explained. Where students in Florida sometimes took their options for granted, the students here are open to everything they can get. 

"These kids are so hungry for it," Romeo-Adcock said. 

Now that he's at Western, Romeo-Adcock hopes to be able to bring new contributions to the department, and bring back past opportunities that may no longer exist, such as a dance program or music program. He has also been working with Assistant Professor of Musical Theater Stephen Cramer to work on how to increase recruitment and bring even more theater students to the college. 

"There are very few AA in musical theater programs across the country, and some students are ready for a four-year school after high school, and some students are not, and that's my goal is to get them ready for whatever their next steps can be," Romeo-Adcock explained. 

Moving forward, Romeo-Adcock is excited for the future of the theater department as a whole, but also very excited about bringing his first production, "The Marvelous Wonderettes," to the stage - or, more accurately, the gym. 

"The Marvelous Wonderettes" opens tonight and has performances October 3, 4, and 5 at 7:30 p.m., with a public matinee on Saturday, October 5 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $13 for adults and $8 for youth and seniors, and are available online or by calling the Western Box Office at (307) 382-1721. The production should be suitable for all ages, with some mild language and innuendo, according to the Western Theater Department.