"Broadway Gems" to sparkle at Wheaton Drama

The cascade of lesser-known musical numbers will fill three unforgettable evenings of theater, Aug. 9-11.

Think you know Broadway musicals? You might be surprised.

There’s a trove of lesser-known treasures waiting to delight your ears.

They’re in Wheaton Drama’s summer fundraiser, “Broadway Gems: Musicals You Might Have Missed,” running Aug. 9 through Aug. 11. All tickets are just $10.

The revue of “mini-musicals,” conceived by director Lisa Schmela (Wheaton) and assistant director Christine Pfenninger (Lombard), will introduce audiences to rather obscure musicals, including “The Toxic Avenger,” “[title of show],” the hilariously satirical “Forbidden Broadway,” and “Tick…Tick…Boom!”

“The first experience of anything always leaves a mark. To introduce someone to a new show or song is a gift,” says Schmela, a veteran performer and director. “The concept came from sitting on committees, struggling to find smaller shows. Many  people know the big-name shows, but we wanted to introduce people to some of the smaller gems off-Broadway.”

Pfenninger, most recently seen as Christmas Eve in the Chicagoland regional premiere of “Avenue Q,” says she has long appreciated lesser-known musicals: “I love obscure, smaller musicals because they’re so often incredibly clever and smart—with fantastic music and often beautiful lyrics.”

The directing duo—who are also performing in “Gems” and working with music director Kathleen Dooley (Aurora)—have gathered a cast of mega-talented local performers: Garrett Ard (Warrenville), Mike Boyna (Bloomingdale), Zach Gibson (Lisle), Sara Malloy (Winfield), David Pfenninger (Lombard), Danielle Scampini (Chicago), Steve Schroeder (Warrenville), and Lori Skubich (Lombard).

Some favorite moments of the cast:

Sara Malloy: “‘Men’ from the show "Enter Laughing". It's a bluesy number about a disappointing love life...sung by an awkward, but too young to be jaded (even though she thinks she is) 17 year old.”

Zach Gibson: “More Miserables” from “Forbidden Broadway's”  “Les Mis” Medley.  The music from “Les Miserables” is so iconic in the musical theatre world. Almost anyone can hear those songs and know the source. The best part about “Forbidden Broadway” is getting to sing songs you know and love, but with hilarious new lyrics. It also makes for a great finale of an awesome show!

David Pfenninger: Hmmm...having fun with all of it, but my favorite is probably "Two Nobodies In New York" from “[title of show]”.  It's just a fun look into the musical writing process, giving insight into what the creators' motivation is for writing it and what they think will happen to them as a result of the finished material.  Plus it has some goofy staging and movement to highlight the light-hearted nature of the show.

“Broadway Gems: Musicals You Might Have Missed” will perform Friday and Saturday, Aug. 9 and 10 at 8 p.m., and Sunday, Aug. 11 at 3 p.m. All performances will be held at Wheaton Drama’s Playhouse 111, at 111 N. Hale Street, Wheaton, Ill. Tickets ($10 general admission) are available by phone at 630-260-1820 or online at www.wheatondrama.org.