For the first time in two years, the Carleton engineering musical returned to the stage with its production of Something Aerotic!
A parody of Broadway’s Something Rotten!, the musical was set in 2012 and starred civil engineering student Nickie Top, played by Samantha Brown, and her rival Will Wiggledicke, played by Francis Baccin-Smith.
The show ran from April 1 to 2 at The Gladstone Theatre in Little Italy. COVID-19 safety measures including requiring proof of vaccination and masks were in place.
Before the performance began, directors Amanda Marsden and Ty Russell welcomed the audience with a brief speech.
“We’ve had to rehearse in some very unconventional places. We rehearsed in fields and in basements and online,” Russell said. “It wasn’t great, but we made it work and this show is really something to remember.”
Marsden said all of the show’s profits will be donated to Ronald McDonald House, a charity that gives families a place to stay close to the hospital their child is receiving treatment in.
The show’s band was set up far back on the stage featuring strings, woodwinds, brass and percussion. On both sides of the stage, additional vocalists embellished the songs sung by the cast.
In the program distributed to audience members, a description of the show gave a taste of what they were in for.
“Along this intrepid adventure, our colourful cast of characters experience soaring romance, crushing betrayal, awkward pauses, forgotten lines, and a rather omniscient janitor who cares a little too much about the students in this school,” the program read.
The plot follows senior student Top, as she strives for popularity and to be more like her aerospace engineer counterpart and rival, Will Wiggledicke. She tries to achieve this by forming her own club for engineering students, but at the end of it she finds something even more worthwhile: friendship.
The performance’s mature language and adult jokes, foreshadowed by its name, greatly appealed to its young-adult demographic.
Part of this appeal included the interactive moments interspersed throughout the musical. From the constant breaking of the fourth wall in the set, to the very vocal and responsive audience, to VIP ticket holders throwing objects onstage, there was no shortage of liveliness.
The musical’s inside jokes, such as the hierarchy of aerospace engineers at the top and civil engineers at the bottom, were tailored to engineering students and brought about a sense of community within the audience.
One of the final scenes was a nod towards a well-known pop-culture moment. The cast re-enacted Saturday Night Live’s iconic comedy skit “Dear Sister”, which was well received by the audience.
The performance closed with the cast forming a half-circle and walking up the stairs between seat rows where the audience clapped and cheered loudly in a standing ovation.
The directors then took to the stage and thanked everyone who made the show happen.
Before the night wrapped up, Baccin-Smith took the mic and mentioned a tradition that involved everyone opening one present each at the end of the musical.
“Without further ado, we’d like to give everyone who has suffered so much behind the scenes a little recognition,” he said.
The writing team, stage crew and sub-directors were all given thank you cards and a promise of physical gifts. Marsden and Russell were also properly thanked with a spotlight moment of their own, including a bouquet of flowers and a big round of applause.
The theatre’s veil of darkness lifted, inviting audience members and actors to find their friends and families amid the crowd.
Slowly but surely, audience members and actors trickled to the front of the theatre to congratulate each other and discuss the strange but thrilling three-hour performance they had all just witnessed.
The audience’s excited chatter and bright smiles gave the impression that Something Aerotic! successfully delivered on its promise stated in the program to be “the highlight of your weekend, or an excellent alternative from worrying about upcoming academic finals or complex personal relationships.”
Featured image provided by the Carleton Engineering Musical.
