Spring Sing 2016’s theme of “Retrobution” promises to bring the ’70s and ’80s to life on the Benson stage on March 25-26. With four male hosts and 16 ensemble members, as well as eight club shows, the show as a whole is going to be different from past years despite using the same winning formula, ensemble director Dottie Frye said.
“There is a team of professionals — faculty and staff — who spend countless hours in planning and preparation for this event,” Frye said. “Our main goal is, first, to create a unique production every year. That’s number one.”
Frye said that all of the host introduction numbers are parodies of theme songs from classic TV shows from the ’70s and ’80s. A few of the songs to anticipate to from the ensemble are Billy Joel’s “Longest Time,” a “Back to the Future” medley, and Huey Lewis and the News’ “Heart of Rock and Roll,” according to Frye.
Senior Claire Heffley, a member of the ensemble, said she is amazed every year at the faculty’s efforts to modernize Spring Sing and make it a fresh experience.
“There are more flames and more light shows and more lasers every year,” Heffley said. “That’s why thousands and thousands of people keep coming back. Yes, structurally, it stays the same every year, but yet it changes. It’s exciting year after year.”
With previous head choreographer Blake Hunter’s death earlier this year, Heffley and junior Renee Maynard have stepped forward to lead the hosts and the ensemble as the head choreographers. Frye said that Hunter’s work up to this point is still being preserved as much as possible, just under new direction.
“Blake (Hunter) would be beaming with pride at the work these (women) are doing,” Frye said. “He would be busting his buttons and asking me, ‘Dottie, can I be in that one too?'”
According to Frye, because Hunter, having gone from ensemble to host to choreographer in his college career, knew exactly how the process worked, it has been a challenge for anyone to understand the job on his level. Frye said that Heffley and Maynard have embraced that challenge.
“When (Maynard) and I were asked to do this, I think the word ‘daunting’ is an understatement,” Heffley said. “Blake’s talent was just out of this world. It was the biggest honor and the scariest task that I have ever been presented with.”
Heffley said that, in Hunter’s absence, the entire ensemble felt a desire to push forward and unite as one.
“We’re working hard, but we’re coming together at the same time,” Heffley said. “Everyone has to be patient because we’re overcoming obstacles that we never imagined we would face.”
Frye said that she cannot force people to come back year after year, but she said she hopes audiences can see beyond the pyrotechnics.
“What I want people who see Spring Sing to recognize is that there is a bond that we share,” Frye said. “It is a bond that goes beyond graduation, beyond a closing night, beyond everything. That’s what I hope people get out of this. Yes, it is a musical review. But it is a lifetime memory for everyone who is involved, and I hope audiences can see that.”
