The University of Dayton’s Theatre Program presents “Bare,” a surprising show for all involved in it, from cast and crew to the viewers in the audience.
The show had surprising content, but a clear message to its audience. The musical tells the story of two young men in a Catholic boarding school who fall in love, and how it shapes their relationships with God, their family and their friends.
Hearing about the plot of the story, it wasn’t hard to find the idea of having this show on UD’s campus a little surprising to say the least.
But having seen the show, the message is something that UD values: love and acceptance from God, family members, friends and relationships.
“I was personally surprised that UD decided to do such a show … as it does not support the views of the Catholic Church,” said Beverly Dines, a freshman pre-med major. “Overall the musical was very good and I valued the experience.”
The story is moving and “it brings up important issues that the campus needs to consider,” said Jenna Gomes, a sophomore theatre and English major. Gomes is also working backstage as the prop master for the show.
The story does bring to light some important issues, such as homosexuality, being overweight, teen pregnancy, drug use and promiscuousness. The interconnecting stories weave together to connect to the audience in a variety of ways.
“I enjoyed the show, I liked the music, and no song was bad,” said Leah Titlebaum, a freshman graphic design major.
Dines said “the music was phenomenal” and that the set was “off the charts.”
However, “there were some unfortunate technical issues,” according to Janelle Stalter, a junior chemical engineering major.
“It was hard to understand some of the singing,” Titlebaum said.
She also said that “some of the characters could have been presented better.”
The show did have some issues with sound, as the microphones seemed to be jumping in and out during the show, particularly in the beginning. This may have been due to the fact that this audience saw it on one of the dress rehearsal evenings. But overall, the audience still seemed to enjoy the show, and understood its message.
The music moved quickly from funny to moving to sounding simply beautiful from one moment to the next. A particular favorite song for the audience is the song where Mother Mary and her angels come and visit Peter, one of the main protagonists in the show. The audience laughed and cheered at this scene as Mary showed a groovy side.
Students should go to see this show because the show is definitely eye-opening, and “it brings up important issues that the campus needs to consider, and it’s a good performance,” Stalter said.
The show will continue into the next weekend, on Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. The cost is $7 for students and faculty and $12 for the general public.
