Pauper Players’ ‘Broadway Melodies’ showcases student-written musicals

Pokemon, the Kardashians and the work of James Cameron will take the stage this weekend.

These fixtures of popular culture are the subjects for Pauper Players’ annual production of “Broadway Melodies.”

The show consists of three short student-written musicals — “Kardashians: The Musical,” “Avatartanic” and “Pokemon: The Musical.”

The group, which has historically performed in the Union Cabaret, was forced to relocate due to Union renovations last spring.

Pauper Players’ last show in the Cabaret was last year’s “Broadway Melodies,” which highlighted “Glee,” “Mean Girls” and the work of Quentin Tarantino.

This fall, the group performed “Guys and Dolls” at the Carrboro ArtsCenter. The weekend performances of the show were nearly sold out.

“Broadway Melodies 2012” will return the group to campus, where it will perform in the Hanes Art Center.

Ben Boecker, executive production director for Pauper Players, said performing in the new space will take some getting used to for the cast and crew.

“It will be a pretty big transition for us,” he said.

Boecker said the group had to reorient the show for an auditorium that has viewing from all sides, but the space also has advantages.

“It has a large capacity for seating,” he said.

Alex Herzing, a choreographer and actor in the show, said Pauper Players’ return to campus should help the group save money and attract a bigger audience.

But the new space produces a few technical difficulties, said Maria Palombo, an actor and director for the show.

She said the space’s lack of microphones means the cast has to project its lines more.

The group will move into the auditorium on Wednesday to prepare for its first performance on Friday.

Herzing said the show is entirely student driven.

He said that in writing the musicals for the show, the writers took Broadway songs and adapted the lyrics to fit various topics.

Boecker said the process of writing and producing three separate musicals for one show was a group effort.

“It takes a very creative person to come up with the right idea and write a script from scratch, but it also takes a lot of collaboration,” he said.

Because some of the humor might be vulgar, Herzing said the show is mostly oriented toward college students.

“The show is geared towards people who enjoy the mindlessness of that sort of TV,” he said.

Palombo said the show is certain to be entertaining.

“It won’t be perfect, but it will be a lot of fun,” Palombo said.

Contact the Arts Editor at arts@dailytarheel.com.