The WVU School of Theatre and Dance presents 'Amour' Nov. 20-21 & Dec. 3-7

The WVU School of Theatre and Dance presents “Amour,” a lighthearted musical, at the Gladys G. Davis Theatre at the WVU Canady Creative Arts Center Nov. 20-21 and Dec. 3-6 at 7:30 p.m. and Dec. 7 at 2 p.m.

In post-World War II, unassuming clerk Dusoleil—who pines for his unhappily married neighbor Isabelle—inexplicably develops the ability to walk through walls. Dusoleil uses his newfound power to become a Robin Hood-like figure, stealing from the rich and giving to the poor. But as the legend of the mysterious thief grows, Dusoleil must decide if he should continue or come clean and save Isabelle from her misery. 

“‘Amour’ explores the barriers we put up around ourselves and how we break through those, using this French tall tale,” said director Ryan Scoble, Assistant Professor of Musical Theatre. “That's something that most humans experience, so it is a very human tale. The way ‘Amour’ goes about it is just lighthearted and fun.”

Despite the fantastical premise, “Amour” is a story about people. Max Clark, a senior Musical Theatre major, describes Dusoleil as an ordinary guy who finds contentment in the little things. Isabelle, said senior Musical Theatre major Mackenzie Olitsky, is a lost and lonely woman who longs for the comfort of true love. Even the more outrageous characters, like Doctor Roucefort—a 70-something alcoholic who lost his medical license—played by junior Musical Theatre major James Houck, genuinely cares for his friend Dusoleil and throws himself into finding a cure for Dusoleil’s intangibility.

Alayna Scott, a senior Musical Theatre major and one of the actresses playing Madeline, loves the title song “Amour.”

“It is such a romantic, intimate, tender moment that will leave the audience filled with a warm, fuzzy feeling like, no matter who you are as a person, no matter how stuck you are in your life, there's always a way out. There's always hope.”

“‘Amour’ is a show where there are colors and whimsies,” Scott added. “There's room to laugh. There's room to cheer. That is so important in the context of what is happening in the world right now. People need live theater. People need to escape.”

“A lot of people have this view of art that it must cause suffering, and art must cause pain, and that's what makes art have soul,” said Marcus Shin, a senior Musical Theatre major who plays multiple roles, including the Prosecutor. “When really, we're here to give people this gift that is laughter and joy and happiness. Our show is there to show people how to find joy in the ordinary and bring color to their lives.”

“‘Amour” is this lovely little thing that people hardly ever get to see,” Clark said. “So when they do get to come in and experience it, hopefully it brings the same type of joy that it would when visiting Morgantown or visiting Appalachia for the first time—that it's this hidden gem.”

A different way to stage a musical

WVU’s production offers audiences a unique theatrical experience for an already rarely-staged musical. “Amour” will be performed on a thrust stage, with the audience on three sides, and without microphones. 

“If you come see the show and sit on different sides of the stage, it's almost like you're seeing two different shows because of the thrust stage,” said Shin. “There’s always something new to see.”

Most musicals are performed on a proscenium-style stage, where the audience lies beyond the invisible fourth wall. A thrust stage makes it more difficult for actors to avoid traditional theatrical faux pas, like turning their backs on the audience. 

“It's a unique challenge and one that I think benefited all the students working on this piece,” Scoble said. “There's an awareness of where you are on stage, your positioning, and how to cheat out to all different sides of the audience.”

On a proscenium stage, actors angle their bodies, or “cheat out,” to avoid facing away from the audience. When the audience surrounds the stage, though, actors turning their backs to the viewers is inevitable. As such, they must choose their angles and moments carefully.

“They might start with one audience section,” Scoble continued. “Then they find a new idea with the center section. And then the center section idea moves to another idea that happens with the stage right section. So the actors are always giving every part of the audience a little bit of face time, while also knowing that they can exist in the world and turn their back on people but still keep them focused and engaged and still project their voice into the area behind them.”

“This is an un-miked show. We have about five instruments in the pit, and we are all un-miked,” Olitsky said. “There are no stage mics, there are no personal mics— it's nothing. That really adds to the intimate setting of the show, but it also shows how hard we've been working because you have to do diction and you have to sing louder.”

Seeing double

Much of the musical theatre canon leans heavily toward male-identifying roles, but at WVU, like many other colleges, the musical theatre program has more female-identifying than male-identifying students. 

“Finding shows with a lot of female-identifying characters is difficult. And this piece really worked well for what we needed pedagogically for our students, but it only had three female roles,” Scoble said. “I didn't think that was fair—that there were six male roles, but only three women got to be in it. So I made the decision to double cast all the female roles.”

Actors will alternate for the double-casted roles, getting four performances each. 

“Now we get the unique experience of picking two people who are perfect for the role and getting to see the ways the characters they create are similar and the ways they're different, which is really fascinating to watch,” added Scoble. “I'm very proud of the students for not feeling like they had to create carbon copies of each other's work—that they got to be their own individual idea of Isabel or Madeline or Claire.”

Olitsky, who is one of the two actors playing Isabelle, said, “Everyone's doing a wonderful job and bringing a lot of personality to all their characters and letting the show shine. It's fun to see the different choices everyone makes when a role is doubled.”

‘It’s an ensemble show’

“Amour” calls for nine actors to play about 15 characters throughout the show. Some actors only play one role, like Dusoleil or Isabelle, while others play three or more characters on a given night. With the double-cast and two swings, WVU’s production has 14 actors, but it’s still an intimate show and each character has his or her moment to shine. 

“It's an ensemble show,” Shin said, “so it really is all of these characters with their own quirks.”

Shin highlighted the work of the production’s two male swings, Ethan Maxwell and Joshua Townshend. As the understudies for multiple ensemble characters, they know the songs, blocking and choreography for the show, so they can stand in for any of the six male roles should someone be unable to perform. 

“Ethan and Joshua are there every night. Even when they're not doing those jobs, they’re singing backstage to help us carry more sound in this acoustic space,” Shin said.

“The show doesn't require that many people, but everyone's role is so incredibly vital,” Houck said. “Even if you're double cast and you're not performing that day, you’re still a vital role in the backing vocals and helping out the person who is playing the main role. This show would not be as good as it is right now with even one person gone. Every single person is vital to the success of this show.”

“Amour” premieres at the Gladys G. Davis Theatre in the WVU Canady Creative Arts Center on Nov. 20 at 7:30 p.m., with one more performance before Thanksgiving on Nov. 21 at 7:30 p.m. After Thanksgiving, the show returns for a five-day run from Dec. 3-6 at 7:30 p.m. and Dec. 7 at 2 p.m.

Tickets are $20 for general admission, $15 for senior citizens and $10 each for groups of ten or more. Purchases can be made online at go.wvu.edu/amour, by phone at 304-293-SHOW or in person at the box office located in the main lobby of the Canady Creative Arts Center, Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

“A lot of people have this view of art that it must cause suffering, and art must cause pain, and that's what makes art have soul. When really, we're here to give people this gift that is laughter and joy and happiness. Our show is there to show people how to find joy in the ordinary and bring color to their lives.” Marcus Shin, senior Musical Theatre major