The College of Performing and Visual Arts will present “Taffetas” from Feb. 19 to Feb. 21 in the Don Taft University Center Performance Theatre.
“Taffetas” follows four sisters from Muncie, Indiana, who make their musical debut on a TV show called “Spotlight on Music.”
Daimien Matherson, senior theatre major and director of “Taffetas,” said the play references American music and pop culture from the 1950s.
“It’s definitely going back,” said Matherson. “You’ve got songs like ‘Mr. Sandman,’ ‘L.O.V.E,’ ‘I’ll Think of You,’ a bunch of things that are very 1950’s. Their costumes are 1950’s. Everything is totally period.”
“Taffetas” will star NSU students who have rehearsed since the beginning of January.
“The music is difficult,” said Matherson. “They’re in four-part harmony, and all of them are carrying a part by themselves in these really complicated chords — because the 50’s is very jazz-based — but they have hit them like champs and are really getting them well.”
NSU students have also assisted with the show’s set design, costume design and theater tech.
Matherson said the play is set up so that viewers will feel like they’re in a studio audience at a live taping of a TV show.
“[‘Taffetas’] is very presentational,” said Matherson. “It’s as if you’re a watching our version of ‘The Ed Sullivan Show.’”
Matherson said the choreography of “Taffetas” is one of his favorite parts of the play.
“I think the choreography is the most fun for the audience to partake in and for the girls to do,” he said. “The choreography is not difficult in the sense that they’re not doing a chorus line, but they’re moving all of the time and are on-stage the whole show.”
Matherson also praised the play’s character development and how well the actresses have been able to adopt their characters’ personas.
“I really love how we’ve been able to take this sister relationship and give them their own personalities,” said Matherson. “The audience will really be able to tell who is the oldest, who’s the one in charge. They’re going to be able to see the one who’s
kind of dumb. The way that they’ve been able to develop their personalities in a show that seems so simple is really beautiful to me.”
Matherson said students should go see “Taffetas” to be entertained and appreciate music.
“I think they’re get a new experience when it comes to music they have not necessarily been exposed to or music they don’t realize they’ve been exposed to,” said Matherson. ”They’ll get a lot of laughs out of it, and it’s just a really fun experience for people to come together and enjoy something they wouldn’t necessarily go do everyday.”
The show times for “Taffetas” are Feb. 19 and 20 at 7:30 p.m. and Feb. 21 at 2 p.m. Tickets are $5 for NSU students and $10 for general admission. To buy tickets online, visit cahss.nova.edu/arts/performance-series.
