Student a cappella group delivers a taste of Broadway

Students don't have to head for Broadway to hear its tunes—instead, students only have to watch a performance by BAM, or Broadway and More a cappella. BAM is one of the most recent additions to Vassar's diverse array of a cappella groups. "We're a newer group on campus so it's great that we've already made a name for ourselves," BAM member Melanie Harrison '14 said, "and have developed a reputation for having fun and entertaining concerts."

A co-ed group that specializes in Broadway music, BAM was founded in Fall 2006, gaining most of its members later in Spring 2007. BAM works to make their concerts fun, interactive performances.

"Musical theater songs don't lend themselves to be arranged a cappella so we try to pick pieces that will involve the group as much as possible," explained Melanie Harrison '14. Harrison, an alto, joined BAM last year and sings the solos for "Aquarius," from the musical "Hair," and "Maybe this Time," from the musical "Cabaret." Harrison, a musical buff, also had a leading role in musical-making Future Waitstaff of America's (FWA) "You're a Good Man Charlie Brown," and was recently cast in FWA's upcoming spring show "Hair."

BAM is distinctive because most a cappella groups do not perform show tunes. Most a cappella groups perform pop or standard songs, and some even explicitly ask that performers do not sing a musical theater piece during auditions.

The group's repertoire, however, also includes music outside of musical theater, including themes from television shows. One singer, Paul Spanagel '14 for example, sings a rendition of "On the Rise" from popular musical miniseries Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog. Still, there focus is clear: Broadway.

"We're trying to expand into TV themes soon. I just really want to sing ‘That's So Raven!'" said Reeve Johnson '14 with a laugh. Johnson, a tenor, sings the solo parts of "Run Freedom Run" from the musical Urinetown and "Totally Fucked" from the musical "Spring Awakening." Johnson, like Harrison and his fellow BAM members is an avid musical fan; it should come as no surprise then he was also music director of FWA's "She Loves Me" last semester, and recently casted in "Into the Woods," the classic Sondheim musical, for the spring semester.

BAM works to incorporate comedy, choreography and dialogue into their concerts, which makes their shows feel more like performances from a musical rather than simply a typical a cappella concert.

"We're a lot of fun. We make an effort to do songs that are entertaining and will make people laugh too," said Sarah Spitz '14. A soprano, Spitz is in Vassar's Women's Chorus, and sings the solos of BAM's rendition of "Summer Nights" from the musical "Grease." "Our final concert last year was Glee-themed, and we made it kind of like an episode of Glee, which was really fun. We also throw the best parties," Spitz said.

BAM is one of the College's largest a cappella groups, with 14 singers currently on campus. In spite of its size, the group is very egalitarian and everyone gets a say in what songs will be performed. "People just arrange a bunch of songs, and anyone can bring a song to the table. Then we'll vote on which we would like to actually perform," said Johnson. In turn, because BAM is a newer group, they try to keep songs in their repertoire for no more than two semesters to encourage variety.

"If we have a lot of new stuff arranged, then we will talk about what has been done the most and what direction we want to go in," further added Harrison. "Compared to other groups on campus we have fewer staple songs because we're newer."

Many of BAM's members will study abroad next semester, so they held auditions both first and second semester this year. When looking for new members, BAM seeks singers who are not only vocally talented, but also funny and comfortable with being quirky on stage. BAM hopes to gain many group members because their a cappella numbers, including the recently added "La vie Boheme" from the musical "Rent" often necessitate a large group, because of their performative nature and lack of soloists to lead them.

Last year, BAM entered Dove's Hair Care Brush with Greatness Sing 4 All. The competition solicited glee clubs and singing groups from all over to submit videos of themselves singing "My Favorite Things" from the musical "The Sound of Music," and viewers voted for their favorite rendition online. The competition and audience narrowed down its myriad submissions to four finalists.

The winning group gained the opportunity to perform the song at Radio City Music Hall that December. BAM came in third place, and earned a chat and musical coaching session over Skype with one of the most renowned Broadway icons of our generation, Idina Menzel. Menzel starred as Maureen Johnson in "Rent," and won the Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical for her role as Elphaba in "Wicked." Menzel also happened to have a recurring role on Glee, in a fitting link to BAM's Glee-themed concert last year.

"She was so nice!" exclaimed Spitz. "It was amazing. We sang ‘Totally Fucked' and ‘My Favorite Things' for her and asked her questions about her life and career. She said she really wanted us to win, and that we had the most intricate harmonies."

BAM will perform at the All Families Concert at the beginning of April, and will perform their annual spring concert sometime at the end of this spring semester. "Our concerts aren't just for Broadway buffs; they're for anyone who is looking to hear some good music and hear Broadway done in a different way," Harrison concluded.