At Utah State, coronavirus becomes a showstopper

By Emma Feuz

A new Utah State University play made its debut Tuesday night but has since been canceled amid the coronavirus health crisis. 

“Title of Show,” directed by USU professor Michael Shipley, was intended to run for five days at the Caine Lyric Theatre but instead was cut to a one-night-only performance.

“The tragedy in all of this is that our students, who have worked so hard since January, will be unable to share their incredible work,” said Stephanie White, the choreographer of the play. “I hope, at some point, they will be able to perform for a larger audience than their opening night crowd.”

“Title of Show” is a one-act play featuring only four actors, four chairs and a keyboard. It is a musical about four people writing a musical, and it’s based on real people writing a musical through real events, Shipley said.

Brian Bohlender, Bryson LaBar, Madison Archibald and Camie Randall held the leading roles. On Friday, they had been looking forward to performing before an audience that was to include Susan Blackwell, a member of the musical's original Broadway cast.

“We've been rehearsing for two and a half months in this project, having it swiftly taken from us was upsetting,” Bohlender said. “The cast and crew put all their hearts into this project. It's hard to see them hit.”

“Title of Show” is not the only event affected by COVID-19. USU has canceled all university events and is preparing to transfer to an all-online class format in the next week. According to an email sent to students and staff at the university, these actions are an effort to slow the spread of the virus and assist public health officials and health care providers.

Despite good intentions, USU’s actions have still been met with frustration as many events that students have been working toward will no longer be possible. However, many already have eyes on the future.

“This will not be my last show, at USU or in my career,” Bohlender said. “So it's about moving on and hoping the scare dies down.”

And White believes there may be dramatic silver lining in this moment in history.

“I wonder,” she said, “what interesting theater will come out of our current pandemic experience.”