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ON CAMPUS
ON CAMPUS
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Rave reviews for EMU’s own original rock musical
A DREAM BLOSSOMED into reality with EMU’s fall production of “U2 Romeo & Juliet,” co-created by theater professor Justin Poole and visual and communication arts professor Jerry Holsopple. The long-time fans of the iconic Irish band developed a creative proposal in March 2020. After an unusually quick review, U2 gave permission to continue with the project and charged only a modest fee for use of the songs.
Poole and Holsopple developed the adaptation in summer 2020. They cut archaic scenes, while keeping favorite Shakespearean quotes and the story intact. U2’s songs on the themes of hatred, violence, love and reconciliation include “Love and Peace or Else,” “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For,” “Grace,” and “Sunday Bloody Sunday.”
“The music of U2 works so well in this show because most of their songs mean more than one thing,” said Holsopple. “It may be about love, but it is also about this other situation. It goes from lament to prophetic anger, from intense personal feelings to grand ideas all while balancing multiple narratives on the flow of text and music.”
Poole said the play tells the story of the constant human struggle between light and darkness, but challenges audiences to make a difference in today’s chaotic world: “It’s about the horrible things we do to each other and the need for us to advocate for peace and justice despite seemingly insurmountable odds.”
The production opened to a sold-out house during Homecoming and Family Weekend, with live music by local band Prince Bellerose and Joseph Harder '20, original videos produced by visual and communication arts students, and intense fight scenes. The skilled ensemble of actors included student leads Andrew Stoltzfus and Greta Schrag; Stan Swartz '87; and faculty James Richardson, professor of music, and Shannon Dove, theater tech director.
The production earned several awards at the 2021 Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival: Poole and Holsopple, as well as fight choreographer Wolf Sherrill, earned Certificates of Merit. Schrag, Stoltzfus, Elizabeth Eby and Anna Hoover were each nominated for the Irene Ryan Acting Scholarship competition. Eby was nominated for the MTI Musical Theater Intensive Audition.
