This weekend, the student-run organization Off-Off Broadway performed a show they have been working on all semester, entitled, "Love ... It's Complicated."
With talent that they themselves described as mediocre, their enthusiasm and passion for musical theater entertained audiences in four performances held in the relaxed setting of the Benson Auditorium.
By presenting love in its most complicated form and performing at its rawest, Off-Off Broadway proved that a handful of music-loving students can pull off an entire show on their own without professional training.
Off-Off Broadway is an organization that has been on USC's campus for years, and it never turns away a student with a love for performing. Currently composed of 25 members, the cast puts on a show every semester free to students and the general public.
"Love ... It's Complicated," written by first-year biology student Christina Ta, is a culmination of Broadway favorites intertwined in an original plotline. The story follows several couples and the conflicts that unfold in all sorts of relationships, accompanied by songs from well-known musicals such as "Rent," "Chicago" and "Wicked". These songs were taken out of their usual context and applied to unfaithful, long-distance, pretend, gay and new romantic relationships as each character's story somehow connected to someone else's in the show.
An audience favorite of the performance was "There! Right There!" from "Legally Blonde: The Musical" in which characters try to figure out if their friend's new boyfriend is gay or just European. Other crowd pleasers included "Diamonds are a Girls Best Friend," from "Moulin Rouge," "96,000," from "In the Heights," and "Cell Block Tango," from "Chicago."
Colleen Kelly, a first-year history student, serves as the secretary of the club and loves Off-Off Broadway because it allows students to get artistic in a way that you can't find in the classroom.
"I can get my love of performing out without it being taken too seriously; it's not a grade or requirement. I just enjoy musical theater," she said, "This club is the love of my life right now."
The directors, third-year chemical engineering student Jonathan Berry and first-year psychology student Brittnie Cooper are also in the club for the pure love of being on stage.
"Everyone's so much fun because we are not serious theater or music majors," Cooper said. "We have a laid-back style, but I think we still produce a pretty good show," Berry said, "We have a common bond with each other and make friends we probably wouldn't otherwise."
Each of them not only directed the production but held a major role in it as well.
Monica Litsas, a first-year pre-pharmacy student, attended the performance to support her friends in it.
"I really liked the complex choreography," she said, "You could tell they put a lot of effort into it."
Joined by Alex Bren, a first-year business student, they both agreed that they were impressed with the show put on by the all-volunteer cast.
"I liked the stripped-down nature of the show, without distracting sets and overdone backdrops," Bren said.
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