Two professors have been hired to write a new historical musical.
Dr. David Herendeen, head of opera music theater, and Jan McDaniel, professor of music, were commissioned by the Meyers Theater for Young Audiences to write an original musical titled “Rushmore.”
Herendeen said the show is about a music teacher who goes on a trip to visit Mount Rushmore and sticks around later than she should. Once dusk hits, a voice comes on to the speaker to announce the park has now closed. As she sets her backpack onto the ground, out spill her musical instruments, only to awaken the faces carved into the rock.
Herendeen said the stage is used as a time portal bridging the past with the present in order for the presidents to share some of their own perspectives and contributions.
“Teddy Roosevelt’s got a great rap all about being one of the first conservationists. He goes down the alphabet, naming the National Parks along the way,” Herendeen said.
Herendeen said to keep the piece fun and engaging, the songs vary in style and genre, often reflecting different historical or musical periods.
McDaniel said the work is commissioned by the Meyers Theater for Young Audiences, a group subsidizing schools across the region and commissioning musicals to teach history.
Herendeen said the organization pays for all buses and costs associated with the performance event and is designed to bring the arts and history to students in a unique way while also giving the opportunity to those of lower-income districts to experience live theatre.
Herendeen said historically, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt have been painted as the idols of the U.S.
“They had magnificent ideas and ideals that rippled out to create what is important to us now. However, when considering these presidents who helped built our foundation, it is important to remember their humanity, and we have to take these people for what they are: flawed,” Herendeen said.
Herendeen said he is not writing “Rushmore” without considering modern values.
“It’s not without its problems, because we run into our own contemporary values when reviewing these people. Acknowledging these flaws means that we regard them not as heroes, but simply as men who made a difference,” Herendeen said. “Because of their efforts, their vision, their youthful idealism, we have progressed.”
Herendeen also said creating in the midst of a pandemic, recession and period of such uncertainty makes it feel as though now is as good a time to be sharing art.
“It is always equally important to deliver our messages, whether it be on camera, YouTube, TikTok. It all does the same thing,” Herendeen said.
Jasmeen Townsel, exercise science senior and member of the Native American Society, said though art is a great mode of communication, it often only communicates the perspective of the dominant group.
“Using an artistic platform to highlight the side of the oppressor and lack of respect for Native Americans further shows how we’re still in a day and age where people value old ways and don’t appreciate or understand Indigenous peoples,” she said.
Herendeen said he believes history is not only a story of what’s already happened, but rather, an ongoing tale of the relationship between our past and present.
“It never ends,” Herendeen said.
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