Original student run-musical, “Trials and Tribulations,” features two couples — one straight and the other LGBTQ+ — whose relationships progress from healthy to more toxic. Free shows are in Peabody Hall’s Leonard Theater at 8:30 p.m on April 18 and 19.
Scriptwriter and producer, Gabby Benedict, said she is both excited and nervous to unveil this storyline.
“It’s got a lot of graphic content, so I’m kind of interested to see the reaction from the crowd as well, because I feel like it’s a lot more mature than a lot of shows typically tend to be,” said Benedict, a senior majoring in arts management.
While the play is a dramedy — drama and comedy — the graphic content Benedict alludes to is the physical and mental abuse that the couples will go through. Kira Balgo, the music director and songwriter for the show, wrote 12 songs that coordinate with the theme of toxicity and crime. She met Benedict at New Wave Theatre club, and commented that Benedict should write a play to go with her songs.
“She said it as a joke one day,” Benedict reminisced. “She was like ‘You should write a script based on this’ and I ended up writing four scenes and I got invested, so I wrote the whole thing. And then we were like, okay, let’s make this an actual thing.”
They did read-throughs at New Wave Theatre Company and the members laughed and enjoyed the pieces of the story that Benedict would come up with each week.
Balgo’s music has been in the works for years. Songs like “Treason, Attorney and Caution Tape” that are featured in the show are connected through a subtle storyline within the lyrics.
Despite all the effort, she said she still can’t believe how far her music has come. “We are literally a few days away from the performance and I’m like they are singing songs I wrote!” Balgo said.
“These were just written in my bedroom and now I have an entire cast on board, playing these characters, singing my songs, bringing this story to life and it is an amazing, awesome feeling.”
One of the stars in the play, Kaila Powers, will be playing a non-binary character named Rowan who goes through a clingy, dependent relationship. The play shows the aftermath when the relationship has broken off.
Choreographers Powers and Ashley Ricker bounced ideas off of each other when making the steps to the songs. While Ricker choreographed the counts and movements, Powers used blocking to place the positions of the dancers on stage.
“I personally place people on paper and I have so many things in my binder right now that’s just like chicken scratch of people’s initials, places, lines or measures of where you are going to move,” Powers said.
Benedict said she will be in the audience throughout the show, except when she will voice an apparition who acts as the bailiff.
Benedict said she is excited for another very specific part of the show.
“It is about Super Smash Brothers and that’s all I will say about it,” Benedict said.
A video of the opening night performance can be viewed on Facebook.
