Running from Feb. 19 to Feb. 23, the STU Musical Theatre department brought the small town of Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania, to life on stage in the Black Box Theatre.
Throughout the show, the cast made a point to convey the essence of a friendly small town, where strangers smile at each other on the street and create small talk out of thin air — almost mirroring what a day in Fredericton looks like.
Isaac Gilbert, a first-year transfer student, made his debut at the Black Box Theatre as the lead character. His charisma and quick delivery of lines kept the audience engaged and laughing throughout the entire three hours of the show.
With sarcastic remarks and his double entendre, his character stood out from the rest of the cast, making the audience believe there was an impostor among us — a hotshot weatherman from the big city who was used to seeing life through a black and white lens.
As the show first opened, the audience was taken away by the first scene, but little did they know this scene would be repeated multiple times as they realized that Phil Connors found himself in a time loop, repeating the same day over and over again.
Gilbert’s performance was compelling enough that it took the audience on a rollercoaster of emotions within the black-walled theatre.
His character’s frustration at being trapped in the time loop had the audience empathizing with him, witnessing his growth as he accepted his fate in Punxsutawney, eventually blending in with the small town’s locals and their narratives.
Watching how the entire cast re-enacted the same scene for the entire first half of the show was something I had never seen before in the Black Box Theatre.
The precision of each stage movement, the meticulous delivery of every line and the repetition of the choreography all showcased exceptional talent and dedication from the musical theatre students.
The constant movement made the audience fully grasp how Phil Connors’ grim destiny was already set in stone until he turned his life upside down, for the better.
Emily Bessey played Rita Hanson, Connors’ fellow senior producer, and her performance during the solo songs provided a striking contrast to the pessimistic weight Connors brought to the story.
She takes us on a journey of self-discovery as a professional who also longs for the typical fairy-tale romance.
Bessey’s acting and ability to hit high notes deliver the emotional redemption that Connors needed to realize that his happy ending had been right in front of him all along. If only he had stopped hyper-fixating on how he was better than everyone else.
The amount of detail put into their props and stage management was also one of the musical production’s strengths.
From the use of the flip phone, transporting the audience to the late 2000s, to watching Ian Curran, who played Freddie, push three people to mimic the motion of a car, the ensemble’s outstanding support shines through, becoming the heart of the show.
More than a stage production, the synchronization of everyone in the cast to bring the Groundhog Day plot to life was one of the highlights of the show. It felt like a community that came together for the art of performing and music.
They had their choreography down to a science, hitting every move on time while also highlighting the significance of cherished traditions of small towns.
No character was left out of this synergy and by the end of the show, you realize you’ve grown fond of them.
And what happened, then? Well, in Punxsutawney they say – that Phil Connor’s small heart grew three sizes that day.
