"Forbidden" songs come to light with Songsycle

There are few places more filled to the brim with eager energy than a room full of theatre kids waiting to hear their friends and peers shamelessly sing out those songs that have been placed on some quasi-universal blacklist, those melodies that exist only as jokes and eyerolls, those pieces that were once played with the car radio blaring and the windows down and have now been sequestered to headphones-only lip syncs— songs that are, in other words, forbidden.

This was the aim of Songsycle’s fundraiser concert, aptly entitled “Songsycle: Forbidden,” which was held last Thursday in the ever-musical Red Doors. However, this show clearly set itself apart from the usual Songsycle fare, a precedent detailed by group president Reed Schmidt ’18.

“Songsycle is a contemporary musical theater group that focuses on acting the song,” Schmidt said. “We usually…sing primarily songs composed within the last 10-20 years that are within the musical theater canon.”

“A ‘song cycle’ is a collection of individually complete songs designed to be performed in a sequence as a unit,” said Schmidt. “We typically will pick a composer for the semester and select songs that they have written, whether that be solos, duets/trios, or group songs. During rehearsal, we perform the songs for each other and…discuss different topics such as who the character is communicating with, what does the character want to achieve by the end of the song, what was the moment before, etc. For the performances, we attempt to create a through line between all of the songs in order to tell a story.”

The idea to turn a typical Songsycle show into a fundraiser extravaganza was a collaborative one, forged by the members’ collective desire to try something new, according to assistant performance ensemble liaison Eliana Swartz ’19.

“We wanted to create a fundraiser to help support the group in future endeavors: to professionally record songs, to pay for any live accompaniment and to pay for the sheet music that we purchase every semester,” said Swartz. “We wanted to choose something that we could use every year as a fundraiser that would be less serious than our annual show and that includes songs that we would never really sing since our group sings more contemporary musical theater, rather than classic musical theater. This year we chose ‘overdone audition songs,’ and people seemed to really enjoy hearing silly songs that they knew were overdone.”

And enjoy it they did—the audience was extremely vocal before, during, and after each singer took to the stage, proudly proclaiming their unbridled love for certain songs (as Nachi Lederer ’19 sauntered up to sing “Left Behind” in a dress shirt and suspenders, several spectators clapped and whooped at his all-too-appropriate garb in the style of Spring Awakening) and their joy whenever a peer hit a particularly impressive note (like the standing ovation-worthy belt heard from Kyle Watkins ’19 during the Phantom of the Opera classic “Music of the Night”). Each song seemed to perfectly suit its performer, playing to everyone’s strengths—a fact that member Ashley Hiester ’20 states is due to the group’s complex rehearsal process.

“The process of choosing songs usually consists of each person researching songs on their own that will fit into the theme of show,” Hiester said. “After each person did this, we met as a group and talked about the songs that we found. Eventually, by determining if each performer was actually capable of singing each song and also taking into account the tone of each song—happy, sad, funny, etc.—we narrowed our choices down to two songs per person plus one group song.”

Hiester’s performance itself might well be considered the standout moment of the night—tackling perhaps the most cliché audition song of all time, Wicked’s “Defying Gravity,” she expertly navigated the piece’s rough terrain, dodging the footprints left behind all others who have attempted to transcend to Elphabadom in the past and creating her own path to walk on. Though the audience was made up of people who kept fresh in their minds each word, run, and high note, Heister satisfied them at every turn, proving herself to be more than a match for this extremely difficult theatrical anthem.

“‘Defying Gravity’ from Wicked is a song that I have been in love with since I was very young,” said Hiester. “I can vividly remember acting out the parts with my sister in our living room pretending that I was Elphaba up on a Broadway stage; however, so many people sing ‘Defying Gravity’ that I have always been told not to sing it. So, when given the chance to sing a ‘forbidden’ song, I jumped at the opportunity to sing what is probably my favorite song to sing ever.”

Each Songsycle member found this passion within themselves for their particular song—Schmidt, for example, once played Les Miserables’s Eponine and reprised the role Thursday night whilst singing “On My Own”—and this, according to Schmidt, is what sets Songsycle apart from the rest of the musical ensembles on campus.

“Songsycle’s purpose, in my opinion, is to share stories through song,” Schmidt said. “We not only try to connect to the characters, but [also try] to really make their stories applicable and relevant to our own lives as well. We aim to make people feel something, whatever that emotion might be.”

Even if you don’t fall under the category of an uber-obsessed theater-lover, this sense of emotion is undeniable: as each singer steps up to the microphone, it seems as though the audience has stepped into a different Broadway theater. There’s something intriguing about the idea of an old-style cabaret combined with contemporary music, something that calls to all of us who have ever wanted to stand up and sing for all the world to hear. Songsycle’s next show is a return to their traditional revue of one composer’s accomplished works. Once you’re spending the next week thinking about a performance you couldn’t forget or a new song that has since become an old favorite, you won’t regret it.