What is a good villain in a musical without a memorable villain song? A catchy tune that encapsulates a villain’s personality and character is part of the reason we love to hate them. This Halloween, a performance in Johnson Hall will allow students to relive these dark, yet adored, songs.
Winthrop’s Musical Theatre Workshop will showcase “Everybody Loves A Villain” starting on Oct. 31. The performance will feature students in the musical theatre department singing iconic villain songs from famous musicals for audiences.
A majority of the selected songs at the performance will be drawn from Broadway musicals with solos by singers and some students will sing back up. Junior musical theatre major Erika Maliszewski will be performing backup and eventually solo in “Killer Instinct” from “Bring it On: The Musical,” where her character, a cheerleader, will get what she wants by any means necessary.
“Watching those old 90s movies with teen villains and seeing how people [acted]. Drawing from their personal experience [was needed] to create a character who has every mean bone in her body,” Maliszewski said.
This show also gives students, such as junior musical theatre major Amanda Ortega, a chance to introduce villain songs that others haven’t heard of, such as “Circus” from “Make Me Bad.”
“I thought it was incredibly unique” Ortega said, “It’s about a girl who falls in love with a serial killer and then becomes one herself in efforts to win his love.”
Within the list of villain songs, the performance will feature solos from Disney musicals, such as junior musical theatre major Caleb Moody’s solo of “Hellfire” from “The Hunchback of Notre Dame.”
“I love choir and Gregorian chant music from ‘The Hunchback of Notre Dame’ musical” Moody said, “’Hellfire’ allows me to use my operatic voice, which I’ve never had to do [in] a solo as big as this.”
For some, these songs also offer a sense of nostalgia, such as for sophomore theatre major Amery Miller. He will perform “Dentist,” a song about a dentist who cares far more about taking a patient’s life than their oral hygiene. The song is from “Little Shop of Horrors,” which was the first musical Miller performed in high school.
“I think that my song shows lots of energy and the joy that the dentist character takes in his job,” Miller said.
One of the challenges for cast members, such as senior musical theatre major Taylor Neal, was balancing their emotions and keeping up for numbers like “Cell Block Tango” from “Chicago.”
“I definitely had to have more maturity [for the song’s subject] and connect more the song’s choreography than other pieces,” Neal said.
Sophomore theatre education major Calista Schultz is the show’s stage manager. This show was a new experience as the ad-libbing challenged her when writing the script.
“I never stage managed before, so I made a prompt for this type of show. We made up the script as we went along,” Schultz said.
Some of the more expected classics of the performance include “Poor Unfortunate Souls” from “The Little Mermaid” and “Little Girls” from “Annie.” However, the show does have its fair share of surprises.
“We have a special guest in the show to sing ‘You’ll Be Back’ from the show ‘Hamilton,’” said Schultz.
Throughout the show, those who attend will be able to learn more about what makes a villain memorable.
“I think everybody wants to root for the hero, and they need a villain to hate, yet love at the same time because we have a villain we relate to” Ortega said.
Whether an actor plays a hero or a villain, the important feature of a performance is that there should be a character that the audience can relate to and who will be remembered throughout popular culture.
“A character that has depth is the one you remember,” Maliszewski said. “The ones who have emotions are the things that people related to.”
“Everybody Loves A Villain” will take place from Oct. 31 to Nov. 3 at 8 p.m., with a Sunday performance at 2 p.m. General admission tickets on Wednesday and Thursday shows will be $5 with a Winthrop ID and $10 for the general public. Friday through Sunday tickets will be $8 with a Winthrop ID and $15 for the general public.
