“Echoes of The Heart” featured 13 cast members, a band of seven musicians, and three pit singers, performed in Charles Winterwood Theatre. (FAMU Essential Theatre)
“Echoes of The Heart: A Musical Revue” welcomed audiences young and old as the Essential Theatre’s first completely student-written and conceived production.
Ryan Pettaway, a third-year theatre management scholar who served as curator, book writer, intimacy coordinator, assistant director, production stage manager and cast member of “Echoes of The Heart: A Musical Revue,” shares that the production began as a simple script but evolved into a mainstage production.
“It was really interesting writing for the black box, which seats about 60 seats, that was very compressed, very small,” Pettaway said. “It kind of felt like we couldn’t really build on any storylines or any characters. When we really started talking about what we wanted to do, it turned into, well, maybe this is a main stage … we can develop these characters, and how we can show like the different tropes and the different avenues of love and the different stages.”
“Echoes of The Heart” is a jukebox musical featuring songs of various genres, all singing the same tune: love. Set in a speakeasy club called “Smoke and Honey” in present day, the owner and emcee takes the audience on a journey of his own experiences with love, while also celebrating its positive and negative elements, and the power of self-love.
“All of the students were able to come together and kind of collaborate,” said Jae Edwards, fourth-year theatre performance major, director, and cast member of “Echoes of The Heart. “So, it’s not even just the creative team’s vision, it’s really everyone because we were all able to pitch in and bring it to life.”
Cast members Michael Defreitas and Corynne Moss-Brewer singing “You’re All I Need to Get By” by Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson. (FAMU Essential Theatre)
After sitting in the crowd, signing along to “As” by Stevie Wonder, and “Golden” by Jill Scott, patrons shared their favorite musical sections from the show.
“I would say for nostalgia purposes, probably ‘Naughty Girl’ [Beyonce]. It is, one of the best and I would also say, “Where’s My Husband?” It was great,” said Jillian Wheeler, patron of the production.
The Essential Theatre is known for showcasing the talent of its students and allowing each cast member to shine through; this show being no different as it had a clear FAMU rendition and flair.
“I thought it was well done overall,” said Lewis Defreitas, patron and father of cast member Michael Defreitas. “I thought the music, the choreography, the acting, I mean, just the entire production was really well done. And I’m proud.”
“Echoes of The Heart” serves as a celebration of love and music, filled with comedic audience interaction, reflective spoken word and a larger narrative that love may have its ups and downs, but that it’s never a loss to stay optimistic and embrace love.
“One thing I want people to take away is that there’s just so much hatred in this world right now,” Pettaway said. “And I think another thing that kind of inspired this was that all I see when I open my phone now is just hate, hate, hate, hate, hate, hate, hate, hate. I really wanted to write something that just felt like love … and create a community in the theater where everyone felt like they were a part of something together.”