Romance en Route - The 92nd Annual Waa-Mu Show
"Romance en Route" follows six romantics on a journey through love, loss, heartbreak, and self-discovery in the City of Lights. By a chance of fate, Eve and Xander sit next to each other on their flight from Chicago to Paris. Meanwhile, their significant others, Lexi and Jenna, are in Paris competing for a high-stakes promotion. Alongside Tristan, a flight attendant with his head in the clouds, and Matthieu, a hotel concierge and part-time cynic, the two couples meet in Paris and are forced to confront fears, doubts, and unavoidable conversations. Will they find themselves, and the love they deserve, before they return home?
As co-producer with Daniel Maton, Francis Brenner, and Mitchell Huntley, I was responsible for leading the creative production of Romance en Route across creative, writing, and design teams. I also assisted in managing the associated student organization, leading the IDEA and Education.
Notable achievements of this production are introducing a $5 performance to highlight the work of the swings and understudies, expanding the number of student designers involved in The Waa-Mu Show, and reintroducing a successful student run-crew system after the COVID-19 pandemic. I also became the 8th person in program history to be a two-time Waa-Mu co-chair.
Credits
Co-Chairs: Madeline Oberle and Daniel Maton
Director: Johanna McKenzie Miller
Choreographer: Ashley Valent
Music Supervisor: Ryan T. Nelson
Writing Coordinators: Lena Moore, Kailey Morand, Reva Sangal
Music Directors: Wes D’Alelio, Oliver Paddock
Lead Orchestrators: Sydney Astle, Eric Powers
Book, Music, and Lyrics By: Rachel Arianna, Sydney Astle, Daniel Calderon, Wes D’Alelio, Olivia Escousse, Sadie Fridley, Joe Hoppenworth, Mitchell Huntley, Leo Kurland, Sydney MacGilvray, Samantha Miheve, Lena Moore, Kailey Morand, Sophie Morvillo, Maggie Munday Odom, Avery Powers, Eric Powers, Reva Sangal, Emerson Steady, Evan Trotter-Wright, Grace Valaskovic, Casey Weisman, Julia Yanosik
Orchestrations: Rachel Arianna, Rushil Byantal, Gabrielle Alava, Sadie Fridley, Gabriel Hsieh, Liam Jeninga, Aaron Klobnak, Khoi Le, Simeon Lee, Josh Lev, Liliana Li, Mark Li, Selina Liu, Casey Lyons, Sydney MacGilvray, Daphne Meng, Samantha Miheve, Aashna Rai, Emerson Steady, Evan Trotter-Wright
Sound Designer: Michael Daly
Costume Designer: Paisley Kandler
Lighting Designer: Alex Branka
Scenic Designer: Nicholas Giap Lam
Production Stage Manager: Morgan Frost
Stage Manager: Zoe Davis, Angela Geng, Andrea Villafuerte
Production Dramaturg: Ben Jouras
Intimacy Director: Courtney Abbott
Photography: Justin Barbin