The University of Wisconsin’s own song-and-dance performance troupe will present their new show in November.
The acclaimed Wisconsin Singers will perform Hey Mr. DJ Friday, Nov. 7 and Saturday, Nov. 8 at the UW Memorial Union Theater.
Hey Mr. DJ is a revue of film music, Broadway hits and popular songs dating from the psychedelic ’60s to today’s contemporary charts. The show features professional choreography by John Dietrich, UW graduate and choreographer of Radio City Music Hall’s Christmas Spectacular.
In its 36th year, Wisconsin Singers consists of 16 singers and dancers and nine instrumentalists, all of who are UW students. It has been called the nation’s premiere collegiate performance group and performs for over 50,000 people nationwide every year.
The group is affiliated with the UW School of Music but relies entirely on donations from non-UW sponsors including Friends of the Wisconsin Singers, an organization devoted to raising the necessary funds for the Singers’ busy performance schedule.
According to UW sophomore Morgan Ramaker, who is the public relations and marketing director for the Wisconsin Singers and former Singers’ performer, the troupe members put their hearts and souls into the shows.
Ramaker said the Singers are students hailing from a wide variety of academic disciplines that all have a love for performance and are willing to commit the time and energy to make these shows possible.
“For most people, this is something they do in addition to their academics,” Ramaker said. “We have students studying everything from biochemical engineering to history.”
Ramaker participated in show choir and musicals before coming to UW but did not want to major in music. She said Singers is a way for students to pursue their academic interests while still having the opportunity to perform.
Megan Grubis, a UW junior majoring in business, is one of the Singers’ two dance captains. Grubis has been dancing for 15 years and performed with a company before coming to UW. In her third year with the Singers, Grubis admits before joining she had experience only with dancing. As a dance captain, she has a wide range of responsibilities and has learned a great deal about the singing, acting and planning performances.
Both Grubis and Ramaker note the uniqueness of Wisconsin Singers and urge students and Madison residents to come and experience their show.
“Groups like Singers are really rare,” Grubis said. “We are a step up from a show choir and there are only two other groups in the country like us, one in Tennessee and another in Los Angeles.”
Grubis also said the shows appeal to all age groups and bring people to another place as they watch. She emphasized that Hey Mr. DJ is the Singers only performance in Madison this year and the Singers are very enthused to perform for their friends and families.
“It is right up there with going to a Broadway show,” Grubis said. “And it is our chance to show off.”
