91成人导航

Not many people would be able to say they spent their pandemic year writing a musical 鈥� using Zoom 鈥� and getting the attention of Broadway stars.

Except for 91成人导航 alumnus Brian Belding, a volleyball player who studied (and later taught) history in the early 1990s, and colleague Natalie Brice, who can now lay claim to that feat.

The pair developed in a completely virtual environment.

In early 2020, Brice was in charge of a Santa Cruz youth theater group performing at the famed Below 54 cabaret in New York. Belding鈥檚 daughter Samantha had the lead in the play.

That led to a discussion where Belding shared with Brice the script he was writing and turning into a musical. He needed someone to handle the music.

鈥淚 told him he did not have to know music to make this work,鈥� Brice recalls. 鈥淗e would do the lyrics and I would write the music.鈥�

Weeks later, the pandemic hit, and the pair developed the musical over Zoom calls. In fact, they have not seen each other in person in more than a year.

The true story of White Rose is about a group of university students and a professor who clandestinely write and distribute thousands of leaflets about Adolf Hitler鈥檚 tyranny to expose the threat of Hitler and Nazi Germany, putting their lives at risk.

鈥淚 taught history for 20 years and kept dabbling with the White Rose story,鈥� said Belding. 鈥淚 had been working on the words for so long until one day it hit me: 鈥楾his should be a musical.鈥� The play has serious and dark scenes, but it also includes irreverence and joy.鈥�

鈥淥ne of the things I try to hammer home is these were the privileged kids who wanted to disrupt Hitler (for the horrific things he was doing),鈥� Belding said. 鈥淭hese are the German kids who were celebrated by Hitler. They looked like the kids he wanted on the Nazi posters. They were the privileged, not the persecuted.鈥�

Added Brice: 鈥淭he story has been developed for so long, but not in this format. It is historically important, politically important and an allegory for a lot of things going on currently in the world.鈥�

Belding and Brice have been able to test the play鈥檚 songs with top Broadway talent. Theaters in Manhattan and across the country have been shuttered during the pandemic, leaving actors without work.

, whose credits include 鈥�Book of Mormon,鈥� performed the songs and from the White Rose repertoire. Rouleau is the nephew of Jim Dugoni, senior director of development for 91成人导航鈥檚 Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry.

Christine Dwyer, who portrayed Elphaba in 鈥淲颈肠办别诲,鈥� joined Matt DeAngelis (鈥淗补颈谤鈥� and 鈥淲补颈迟谤别蝉蝉鈥�) on the duet

Those are among eight songs on the White Rose, The Musical web site.

鈥淲hat a great way to showcase a new work with that level of talent,鈥� Brice said. 鈥淲e had connections to some of these stars from previous work. They were eager to help out and keep themselves fresh with a new challenge.鈥�

Added Belding: 鈥淲e could see what talented actors and actresses could do with our songs.鈥�

The next step for Belding and Brice is Berkeley. Play Caf茅, a non-profit which facilitates the development of theater works, has chosen 鈥淲hite Rose, The Musical鈥� for a series of workshops with actors and music. Since 1997, Play Caf茅 has been an industry leader in helping to develop the work of individual playwrights as well as entire productions.

鈥淭hey have a pool of actors and their goal is help you progress. This is a big step in the development of our work,鈥� Belding said. 鈥淚 think there is going to be a renaissance of theater when the pandemic breaks. People are going to want to see theater, including new work.鈥�

Could this lead to 鈥淲hite Rose, The Musical鈥� on Broadway?

鈥淵ou have to dream,鈥� Belding said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 certainly the ultimate goal.鈥�