“Catch the Wind,” a new musical created by New York City duo Michelle Elliott and Danny Larsen, was premiered in the Colorado Mesa University (CMU) experimental theatre from Jan. 17 to Jan. 25.
Featuring student actors and a faculty director, the show functioned as a workshop opportunity for Larsen and Elliott, giving them a chance to continue working on and revising the musical’s script and score
This was the world premiere for “Catch the Wind.” According to Elliott, the show’s lyricist, CMU was a great choice.
“It was great to do it at CMU because the students really embraced it and cared about it so much. The passion [director] Chris McKim and the cast had for the show was what made it work,” Elliott said.
Larsen and Elliott have been working on the musical for an extensive amount of time. The story is inspired by historical female pirates Mary Read and Anne Bonny as well as the fictional character Hamlet.
“We were inspired by the moment in “Hamlet” when we find out he jumped aboard a pirate ship while sailing to his certain death in England, and during his time on the pirate boat he undergoes a ‘sea change,’” Elliott said. “We thought it would be interesting if the pirate vessel he jumped aboard happened to be the same ship that is crewed by Anne and Mary. We’ve been writing it off and on for the past 16 years.”
Photo courtesy of Chris McKim
According to the show’s director Christopher McKim, who is a music professor here at CMU, the premiere of “Catch the Wind” was a great opportunity for CMU as a school.
“To have artists from New York come to CMU to premiere their piece is a pretty nice pat on the back for us. It shows that we [have] the resources, the students, the facilities and the training program that is of a high enough caliber that they’re wanting to bring that out to do that here,” McKim said.
He added that the whole experience has been very memorable for him as a director, and that this performance will likely have very positive impacts on CMU’s theatre department.
“I will remember this experience. I will remember these performers [and] I will remember working with the composer and building the relationship that we will continue to have even as we move forward. I’ll still be contacting [Larsen] and looking to do other shows and other music,” McKim said.
A premiere performance is different from a debut. A show’s debut is its first professional performance, while a premiere is the first time a show is introduced to the stage. Elliott and Larsen are currently revising “Catch the Wind,” changing the name of the musical to “Maiden Voyage” as well as cutting many of the songs and rewriting most of the scenes.
“We hope that the show will be developed and produced over the next couple of years,” Elliott said.
Brooklyn Buhre is a senior musical theatre major here at CMU who has performed in a number of shows. In “Catch the Wind” Buhre played her first lead role: the role of Mary Read. After graduating college, she initially planned on moving to Denver to get a job and to perform in shows and other theatre projects on the side. However, after playing the lead in Catch the Wind, new windows of opportunity have opened up for Buhre.
“I hadn’t really thought a lot about going to New York and seeing what is there for me but after working with Danny and hearing his feedback for me and just being able to work with him, he and I just seem to work really well together,” Buhre said. “And that has opened up that possibility that I can go out to New York and kind of see what there is for me, which is that open door that I didn’t have before I was cast in this show.”
Photo courtesy of Chris McKim
Buhre described playing the lead role of Mary Read as a “surreal experience.”
“What is the most [dear] to me is that I got to bring Danny’s beautiful melodies and Michelle’s beautiful lyrics to life. And I’m bring feeling and heart and grit to them. I’m just really fortunate,” Buhre said.
According to Elliott, one of the most magical things about theatre is watching your hard work not only come to fruition but be appreciated by the audience members who experience the story.
“It’s always exciting to see your work come to life, especially after so many years of just the two of us discussing and working on the show. Seeing the energy that a director, a cast and a crew brings to a show is always a real thrill,” Elliott said. “And, of course, the audience’s response is the most important part. When an audience enjoys what you’ve written, it is incredibly satisfying, and makes the long years of hard work worth it.”
