By Madeleine Martin
This semester, I am directing a shadow cast production of the Rocky Horror Picture Show through the Boston University on Broadway organization. In the spirit of theatre, I will be assigning each COM major to a musical I fondly remember from my childhood.
Little Shop of Horrors revolves around a young man- Seymour- who works in a flower shop and happens upon an intergalactic plan that consumes blood. However, despite the bloodthirsty plant, the flower shop booms in popularity after it is put on display in the store window. Advertising students may identity with Seymour because no matter what a product may be, its popularity depends on how it can be sold.
Media science allows students to investigate where different aspects of media originate, how those pieces of media are produced on a widespread basis, and how each model of media is expressed. Media science students would find similarities between their area of study and the musical Chicago that follows various incarcerated women who commit various crimes that gradually increase in violence. As the press within this fictional world follows the stories of these
women, media science students will be able to understand how some stories become so incredibly popular.
Public relations students would identify with the musical Heathers because of its main characters. Heather Chandler, Heather McNamara, and Heather Duke all rule the school with an iron fist, yet everyone seems to either love them or want to be them. The reason they are so revered would make sense to public relations students since these girls are aware of how to utilize their power of persuasion to convince everyone to follow them. Public relations students also use this power of persuasion- or rhetoric- not for evil, but to spread information to the masses.
The musical Hairspray follows a young girl- Tracy Turnblad- who yearns to be chosen for the ensemble dance troupe that performs on the mid afternoon Corny Collins television show. Film and television students would appreciate this musical, not just for the obvious reason of it being about a tv show.This musical delves into the behind-the scenes operations of station management, production, and social communication which are all necessary elements of the Film and Television area of study.
Journalism is all about integrity while reporting a story. With this, the story of Ride the Cyclone follows a group of teens who tragically die in an accident at an amusement park and are then forced to decide which one of them may magically be allowed to return to life. This heavy hitting subject matches the field of journalism well because of its high stakes nature, but also because of the candidness that each character shows. This openness of these characters and their various stories may strike the hearts of journalism students who also have that “one specific story” that they carry with them.