Students Give Songs a Second Chance in “Flop! Says Who?” Musical Theater Performance

December 4, 2023

Broadway Musical flops were given a second chance to shine when the members of Company, the Perpich Musical Theater Ensemble, explored some of the amazing songs from shows that were deemed “unsuccessful.” The group presented “Flop! Says Who?” on November 30 and December 1, 2023 which included several songs that spanned decades. From “Welcome to Wonderland” from Wonderland to “Something To Point To” from Working, the performance took the audience on a musical journey.

“Working with students to create these shows is always a great challenge and they always step up to that challenge,” said
Kevin Werner Hohlstein, Music Instructor. “Their ability to jump in, say yes, and create these ‘edutainment’ pieces speaks to their desire to dig deep into their art form and share that knowledge with the audience. Even when it is still a work in progress, they find their truth in the stories they are telling and work to share that in authentic ways.”

Maggie Loxtercamp (Musical Theater 2024) added, “It was a really eye opening experience being able to research and educate ourselves on musicals that didn’t get enough credit and that we may not have heard of. To then be able to share what we learned through our performance was a truly amazing and inspiring thing!”

Greta Kunene (Musical Theater 2024) shared, “I’ve learned so much more about musical theater history and about how I can become a better performer while doing this production. Not only did I learn some things, I also had fun!”

“Flop! Says Who?” asked the question: What makes a Broadway Musical a flop? On the most basic level, it is determined by the number of performances of the show in its original production. There could be many reasons for this: the show was ahead of its time and couldn’t find an audience; the show brought up topics that the theater world was not ready to explore; the show had a bad storyline; the subject matter of the show was too mundane or the show was too avant-garde; and mostly, the show did not make enough money. Yet many of these shows still had great music within them.

Congratulations to all those involved in the show!