Students are participating in “Musical Theater Sessions” at a local pub.
The shows take place one Sunday evening a month at Saints Pub in the Plaza District, 1715 NW 16th St.
“It’s definitely nothing avant-garde,” said Gavin Drew, music sophomore and MT sessions director. “We are just trying our best to bring a signature spin to a classic cabaret, but not reinventing the wheel.”
There have been two shows so far, and the next show, entitled “An Evening of Rodgers & Hammerstein,” will be at 7 p.m. April 8.
Christian Pearson, who runs OKSessions, as well as Deep Deuce Sessions once a month, reached out to Drew to help with the Saints sessions, Drew said. They were able to get the performances running with help from Pearson’s connections in the city.
“Christian Pearson and Joanne Hoch had this idea that we do some musical theater performances here in town, because we have such incredible talent around OKC,” Drew said.
Drew said they are adding a rotating cast to their performances to create more variety.
“My definition of a rotating cast is allowing a different artist to sing every song, instead of one single person to play the role for the whole evening,” he said. “In our concert musicals, we tell the story without any of the script, just allowing the songs to stand for themselves. However, with the rotating cast you get a really neat experience of seeing different interpretations of a character, while attending only one performance.”
Melissa Campbell, music theater sophomore and performer in MT Sessions, said she appreciates how relaxed the performances are.
“I love how casual and fun they are,” Campbell said. “We don’t try to make it complicated. It’s just a group of performers getting up there to have a good time, and helping the audience to enjoy a quick escape from their daily lives where they can watch a group of real human beings share their music.”
Drew said the response from audiences has been positive so far.
“For pub audiences, it’s been quite amazing,” he said. “There seems to be a distinct dichotomy between the audience that’s there for the show and the audience that had no idea a show was going on and was only there for a drink.”
Interested students can email Drew at musicaltheatresessions@gmail.com.
“As of now, the artists that are performing are local talents,” Drew said. “We are looking to engage performers of all ages.”
Students can find information about upcoming shows by:
– liking “Musical Theatre Sessions” on Facebook,
– following @mtsessions on Instagram or
– checking out the music calendar at oksessions.com.
“These shows are a ton of fun to be a part of,” Campbell said. “It is really wonderful to see more outlets for the arts in Oklahoma City. Please come out and support MTSessions, you won’t regret it.”
Leave a Reply