Concordia University alumni reunite for a new 'Coffee House on Broadway'

By MICHAEL RYDZYNSKI
(Irvine World News - ~September, 2003)

It's back.

After an absence of 1 1/2 years, the Friends of Concordia University Theatre Boosters will bring back "Coffee House on Broadway" on Oct. 4 and 5 for three performances.

The cabaret-styled musical revue, last staged in the winter of 2002, will feature at least a dozen Concordia people, mostly alumni, presenting some 25 songs and medleys culled from about 20 Broadway musicals in a program titled "Broadway Today."

"It's a fund-raiser performed by alumni and staff that's a lot of fun," said Peter Senkbeil, director of theater activities at Concordia since 1992, chair of the university's Fine Arts Division since 2001 and master of ceremonies for Coffee House for the third straight year.

"And yes, we do serve coffee - and cheesecake - at this event. The performers select whatever songs from whatever musicals they want and then we try to see if there's a theme. Last year, it was movie musicals. This year, it's Broadway musicals of the recent past - well, the past 20-30 years."

Thirty-eight, to be exact, with the 1965 musical "Man of La Mancha" being the oldest, though it enjoyed a successful revival last year. And if one wants to get really technical about it, the songs in "Crazy for You" - the "new" Gershwin show that debuted on Broadway in 1992 - date all the way back to the '20s and '30s, while the story and songs for "42nd Street" hail from the '30s, although as a stage musical it made its bow in 1980.

But who's quibbling? Certainly not Senkbeil, serving as unofficial producer of the show and who also gets to sing one of the Gershwin numbers, "What Causes That?" in a duet with alumnus Ron Rapp.

Proceeds go for a school-worthy cause.

"All the money will go to the Theatre Department, to upgrade the lighting system," Senkbeil promised.

Coffee House on Broadway was the brainchild of two of the department's alumni, Heather and David Schulz.

"Peter had approached us after we graduated to help raise funds for the theater program," recalled Heather Schulz (Class of '92), a special education teacher in Los Angeles and free-lance musical-theater performer there, who appeared in all four previous Coffee House revues. In this fifth edition, she will sing a solo, "Gimme, Gimme," from "Thoroughly Modern Millie: The Musical," and two duets with alumna Nikki Kelly: "Mama, I'm a Big Girl Now," from "Hairspray" (2001), and "I Will Never Leave You," from "Side Show" (1997).

"We were on the Friends of Concordia University Theatre (Boosters) committee and we wanted to help in any way we can. But living in Los Angeles, as we still do, we couldn't attend the regular productions.

"So we thought about calling up some of the other alums, have everyone prepare their songs at home and get together once before putting on a little cabaret act," said Schulz, who appeared in at least a half-dozen shows at Concordia, including "Anything Goes" and "Little Mary Sunshine," as well as directing "Steel Magnolias."

"Concordia was an amazing experience for me and this is my way of giving something back," said Andrea Galante (Class of '01), a physician record liaison for Mission Hospital in Mission Viejo and a former history major who nonetheless appeared in as many as 10 shows during her years at Concordia. "In my senior year, I was working Coffee House as a server and so had the opportunity to see it. Afterwards, I went to Peter and said, 'I'm going to be in it! You've got to let me be in it!'"

"Every year, current students act as servers, taking patrons' orders and coming out with their desserts during intermission," Senkbeil explained.

Galante, who appeared in her first Coffee House the last time it was staged, will sing "On My Own," from "Les Miserables" (1987), "A Stud and a Babe," from "I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change" (1996), and, as part of a Girls' Ensemble, a medley of Abba songs, from "Mamma Mia!" (2000).

"Doing Coffee House is a lot of fun. It's a whirlwind activity but so much fun to perform as an alum on the Concordia stage and seeing old friends."

"There's a nice reunion aspect to it," said Michael "Mic" Shackelford (Class of '90), who like the Schulzes was a theater major. He came back to get his master's in 1995. He is a resident (half-time) faculty member at Concordia, teaching acting and directing. He is also the Early Childhood specialist for the Tustin Unified School District.

"The students here, the Christian atmosphere and Peter all have something to do with me being here in the first place," he continued. "And being a Christian university gives us the opportunity to deal with theater in ways a public university cannot. We can look more at the moral and ethical issues of why we do what we do in theater."

While a student at Concordia, Shackelford performed in one show ("Hippolytus") and directed one show ("A Midsummer Night's Dream") and worked backstage on other shows. He has been very active in the Theatre Department since joining the resident faculty in 1999, directing, acting and teaching. He enjoys the fact that, in his third Coffee House, he remains the senior member of the cast in terms of graduation.

"And I think there should be at least one theater major in the group," he said, then remembering Heather Schulz, quickly added: "All right, one of two or three, in case I forgot anyone else."

Thanks to Shackelford - last seen as the M.C. in "Cabaret" last fall and currently in rehearsal directing Concordia's fall production, "Ruthless!" - Rob Blaney will not only make his Coffee House debut but his Concordia on-stage debut as well.

"I’d heard it was a really good production and they called me the first year they did it but I was unavailable. So when they called again a year ago for this one, I agreed," said Blaney, a free-lance musical director, conductor, keyboardist and performer, who graduated from Concordia in 1992 as an art major.

He has served as music director on such Concordia shows as "Little Shop of Horrors," "Joseph" and "Cabaret."

Shackelford and Blaney have worked together on a number of shows, either as performers or stage director-music director, with "Ruthless!" being an example of the latter relationship.

An example of the former can be seen in Coffee House, where the two will sing the duet "I Am I" from "Man of La Mancha."

Separately, Blaney will sing "Moving Too Fast," from "The Last Five Years" (2002), while Shackelford will sing a ballad, "Never Will She Answer," from the Off-Broadway failure "Hurry, Hurry, Hurry" — "I really like that one number," he said - and a mini-medley of "Something Better Than This," from "Sweet Charity" (1966), and "Move On," from "Sunday in the Park with George" (1984).

"It's fun to see alumni people I hadn't seen in a while," said Blaney, who last performed in Brea in "Smashing Broadway" in May and is also serving as music director for Woodbridge High School's fall musical, "Nunsense," in addition to "Ruthless!" which opens Nov. 7.

"And performing in Coffee House gives my students the opportunity to see whether or not Prof. Shackelford practices what he preaches in the classroom," added Shackelford, who also was in Concordia's "Pippin" four years prior to "Cabaret" and is currently working on his doctorate.

"There's rock, more traditional Broadway, even disco, presented mostly in a cabaret style," Senkbeil said. "Audiences know what to expect and keep coming back."

"They enjoy the fact it is informal," Shackelford said.

"People sitting at tables in an intimate, relaxed, casual setting will be surprised at the level of talent coming from such a small liberal arts college," Schulz said.

"For the price you pay, you get two hours of Broadway you can't get in L.A.," Shackelford said.

"And you're supporting a local program in the process," Galante said. "So if you like Broadway and you like cheesecake, this is the best place to be, because we have the best Broadway-level performers and the best cheesecake."

"Praise the Lord - and pass the cheesecake," Blaney joked good-naturedly.


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