The School of Theatre, Television and Film hosted the 100 Years of SDSU Theatre Centennial Gala on Oct. 16, marking the beginning of a historic season for the program.
The event coincided with the opening night of the first musical of this monumental season — Andrew Lippa’s “The Wild Party.”
The show is based on Joseph Moncure March’s 1928 narrative poem of the same name. It tells the story of a lively, young vaudeville dancer, Queenie, who decides that she and her lover should host, as the title suggests, a wild party. This gathering quickly turns into a frenzy of love, sex, jealousy and death.
“I feel like I’m throwing a big party,” Stephen Brotebeck, director of SDSU’s School of Theatre, Television and Film and host of the evening, said.
Brotebeck has served as the school’s director since 2025, first starting as a theater professor in 2015. He’s worked in the industry as a performer, director, choreographer and artistic director.
“In order to be an excellent teacher of theater, you have to be doing theater as a professional,” Brotebeck said. “I think everyone here on our faculty feels the same way. Bringing the professional world into the classroom is really key.”
The faculty aren’t just educating future performers; they hope to inspire the next generation of theater teachers. Russ Sperling, supervisor of student teachers for SDSU’s music department, said this is critically important for the arts in schools.
“I think the arts are an essential part of every student’s education,” Sperling said. “We find that when the arts are taught by a credentialed professional, which is what San Diego State provides, the impact is even greater. We love all the teachers that give it a shot, but theater is a real skill.”
Russ Sperling and husband Gus Pagsanjan smile together during cocktail hour at the Bill & Evelyn Lamden Stage on Friday, Oct. 16, 2026, in San Diego, Calif. (Katie Llewellyn)
The gala was packed with theater educators from SDSU over the years and their former students who were overjoyed to reunite with them.
Sally Rednick, a class of 1975 graduate, said she found out about the event from her old professor, Maggi McKerrow, and instantly knew she wanted to attend.
McKerrow inspired Rednick and her good friend, Sam Kuglen, to become teachers. She was an elementary educator, while Kuglen taught high school AP English Language and Literature. He still brought his theater experience along with him, though.
“I would say to anybody that teaching five periods a day is like doing five, one-act plays for an hour a day,” Kuglen said. “You have to be responsive in the same way because the students are your audience.”
The gala was filled with alumni mixing and mingling, all in their best 1920s outfits featuring boas, fringe and fedoras. The cocktail hour at the Bill & Evelyn Lamden Stage was bustling with lively conversations and heartfelt reunions, scored by a live pianist.
The event transitioned inside to the Prebys Stage, where guests dined on prime rib platters. As Brotebeck welcomed everyone to the event, he took a moment to thank the generous sponsors for the event, including graduate Michele Schlecht.
Schlecht graduated from SDSU’s Master of Public Affairs program, where she met her husband Rick Covey. The two have been patrons of the theatre department for years and said they love watching young artists grow and develop.
“You can watch the education process happen,” Schlecht said. “You see the light bulbs go off and that’s really one of the great bonuses.”
The evening continued with performances from alumni of the Master of Fine Arts program who have performed in national tours and on broadway; Victoria Fowler, Tug Watson, Courtney Corey and Merideth Kaye Clark. They performed songs from shows that they did while at SDSU, accompanied by musical director and fellow alumni Richard Dueñez Morrison.
Fowler sang “Anything Can Happen” from “Postcard American Town,” a musical that had its world premiere at SDSU in 2022. Corey performed “You’ve Got Possibilities” from “It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane, It’s Superman!” for the first time since 1995. Clark dedicated her performance of “Simple Little Things” from “110 in the Shade” to her late co-star Michael Elliot.
Watson’s first performance of the night was of “You Are There,” followed by “Gethsemane” from “Jesus Christ Superstar” later in the lineup. He first played the role at SDSU in 2016.
Each performer took time to recall memories of their time at SDSU. Clark shared that it was her first time back on campus since 2002. The audience laughed together over how much had changed, most notably, the Prebys Stage formerly being a tennis court.
After Watson’s second song, he explained all three women on the bill had something very special in common.
“All three of them have played Elphaba in Wicked,” Watson said as the crowd cheered. “Incidentally, I have not yet, but there’s still time.”
Merideth Kaye Clark and Victoria Fowler watch Courtney Corey amid their trio performance at the Prebys Stage on Friday, Oct. 16, 2026, in San Diego, Calif. (Katie Llewellyn)
Clark, Fowler and Corey performed “Defying Gravity” in a trio arrangement done by Robert Meffe, head of musical theater. The women took in a standing ovation before Corey raced back to the Main Stage to direct “The Wild Party.”
The upbeat musical is almost entirely sung through with little dialogue. The show has a large ensemble cast, with four main actors – Lyric Boothe, Kylie Young, Christian Duarte and JoeJoe McKinney.
Additionally, the music is played by SDSU jazz ensemble musicians.
Brotebeck said that the students and their work are what make SDSU theater so amazing. His goal for the future is to increase the visibility of the program so more people can know how much it has to offer.
“We have so many programs … that all just blend together so well,” Brotebeck said. “We have students designing the shows, students that are acting in the shows, students that are sometimes directing the shows. It makes it really special.”
SDSU Theatre’s centennial season will continue on with productions of “The Maids,” “The Cottage,” “Seussical” and “King Lear.” Each show will feature a different area of the school: the design and technology program, current and former faculty, the youth theater program and the performance area.