Curtain Call, the University of Lynchburg’s musical theater ensemble, will perform its annual Curtain Up Songwriters Workshop concert at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, March 27, in Robert C. Hailey Theatre. Admission is free and the public is invited.
Since 2017, the workshop has paired New York City songwriters with Lynchburg students to create original songs. The songs are then performed in a cabaret-style concert. The program is led by Curtain Call’s director, Dana Ballard. Her son, New York City songwriter James Ballard, serves as artistic director.
“It began when we realized we would have six weeks at the end of the spring semester to fill, and we wondered what kind of project might be different and exciting and helpful to the students,” Dana Ballard said.
“We landed on the idea of asking up-and-coming musical theater writers from the New York Broadway community to work together with our students to develop new works. …
“Each year since then, even during the [COVID-19] pandemic, writers have written solos for students and works for the entire ensemble, so that everyone in Curtain Call has had a chance to work together with a New York writer, either alone or with the group.”
Bobby Vinson ’25 (left) and Nico Thomas ’25 perform with Curtain Call at 54 Below . Photo by Sir Michael Allan Galvez.
Dana Ballard said her son is “the key” to making it all happen. “He has the New York connections, and each year he finds just the right musicians to create songs together with Curtain Call,” she said.
“It’s not always easy to line up schedules and find people who are willing and able and also available, all at the same time, but he has managed to find us excellent writers over the years.
“To date, over 30 individual composers and lyricists have worked with us on new songs. Some of our writers, who were ‘up-and-coming’ when they wrote for us, have gone on to win major awards for their work on Broadway.”
For example, previous collaborators Rona Siddiqui and Mike Pettry won Tony Awards for their work on “Strange Loop.” Heath Saunders and Grace McClean, who worked on “Natasha Pierre and the Great Comet,” have also written original songs for Curtain Call.
Songs written for the workshop have also been performed at The Kennedy Center and at various New York City venues. In January 2024, Curtain Call performed original workshop songs at 54 Below, a popular New York City cabaret club.
“When Curtain Call performed … at 54 Below, Broadway’s premier cabaret venue, the staff … commented that although many university groups perform there each year, Curtain Call … was the only university group that had even performed an entire concert of original works,” Dana Ballard said. “That was exciting!”
She described the upcoming concert as a “celebration of all the music and collaborations that have been created over the years by the Curtain Up Songwriters Workshop” and said numbers will include “Ghost Light,” written for Curtain Call by James Ballard and creative partner Seth Christenfeld, “where we will light the ghost light on the stage to shine the way for whatever might come next.”
There are two more events on the calendar for the theatre department this spring.
The annual Student Honorary Play, a student-led production presented by Alpha Psi Omega, will be performed in the Studio Theatre at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, April 16-18. This year, the students will present, “I Am Frankenstein.”
Dance Works, the University’s dance troupe, will perform its Spring Showcase at 7:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, April 24-25, in Hailey Theatre.
For more information, contact Jeff Wittman, theatre department chair, at [email protected].