Judging from their high-energy performance, it’s clear that the members of Geneseo Musical Theatre Club love to perform, whether that means spitting rapid-fire jokes during a skit or dancing pantsless across the stage. From Nov. 15-17, the club’s many fans on campus will see MTC members do all that and more in their bi-annual revue “MTC: Awesome Show, Great Job!” at the Alice Austin Theatre.
This semester’s theme is a play on the creative anti-humor Adult Swim show “Tim and Eric’s Awesome Show, Great Job!”
“Typically we choose the theme in the middle of the semester after rehearsals have started,” MTC Vice President junior Erin Girard said. “However, in an attempt to create a more cohesive show, we decided to choose our theme the first weekend of the semester, before musical numbers begin rehearsing.”
This manifests itself in several ways. Many of the skits in between songs centered on performers watching television, then changing the channel to a new number. Others, in the spirit of the “Tim and Eric,” were as seemingly random as possible.
In the show’s opening skit, senior Josh Horowitz studies onstage as an excuse to break out into the number “Spamalot,” from the hit musical of the same name, for educational purposes.
MTC often uses skits as a means of contextualizing musical theater songs to fit their Geneseo performers. A number of other skits do much the same, invoking topics such as Starbucks, the mistaken names for various performers and the Brodie Hall Statue Garden. The skits also give performers time to change as well as help to tie each number into the show’s theme.
“While elements of our revue incorporate the wacky-zany humor of ‘Tim and Eric,’ we have also attempted to incorporate the theme by creating a self-aware show,” Girard said. “Our performers commonly break the fourth wall, speaking directly to the audience.”
One of the highlights came at the end of the first act, in a performance of “The Circle of Life” from The Lion King, where Treasurer junior Luke Martin, having fallen asleep watching the Animal Planet, sings along, but doesn’t know why.
According to Girard, anyone can direct or choreograph a number “after their ‘New Kid’ semester.” This leads to a fair amount of diversity in the show, mostly from new voices cycling into the organization, bringing new ideas and tastes along with them.
MTC shows are free, but those hoping to be in the audience must pick up tickets outside of the theater starting at 6:15 p.m. the day of the show.