The casts and crews of Broadway shows and touring companies have teamed up to send a video greeting to Michigan State University in the aftermath of last week’s mass shooting.
In a video posted to YouTube, performers with shows like Moulin Rouge, 1776, and A Beautiful Noise express support and encouragement to the MSU Department of Theatre. They include the touring companies of Jagged Little Pill, which recently was at MSU’s Wharton Center, and Wicked, which will be at MSU in May.
The MSU Theatre Department will stage a production of Sweat next month. The show’s stage manager left a comment on the video’s YouTube page, saying the cast and crew went into lockdown during a rehearsal as the shootings unfolded. Sweat playwright Lynn Nottage also appears in the video, saying “Spartan Strong” and adding, “In moments like this, we need our artists to be second responders. It’s really important for us to come together as a community and use the tools that we have to amplify and tell our stories.”
The video was assembled by Wes Haskell, a company manager in New York with a Master of Fine Arts degree from MSU.
Rob Roznowski heads up acting and directing in the MSU Theatre Department.
“It’s meant for them to feel supported, heard, and listened to,” he said. “So, I think that’s the important part.”
Roznowski says he heard someone say the video made them cry, but for the first time out of happiness rather than sorrow.