Waa-Mu
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Waa-Mu is Northwestern University's own original annual musical revue written, performed, and presented by Northwestern theatre department students every April-May. The name stems from the fact that the show was originally produced by the Women's Athletic Association (WAA) and Men's Union (MU), who banded together to present the first show in 1929. Since then, Waa-Mu has become a tradition for budding young theatrical talent at the University. The development time of a Waa-Mu show is now approximately 18-months from conception to production. As one of the founders Joe Miller once said, "Waa-Mu gives students the biggest musical revue challenge this side of Broadway. That's not bragging...that's what the show is and has to be." Even during the run of a particular year's Waa-Mu show, it generally is not the only musical currently being put on at Northwestern. Northwestern has been known to go so far as to open a major musical and Waa-Mu on the same evening.
Pulitzer Prize winner and lyricist of "Fiddler On the Roof" as well as an accomplished Waa-Mu alum Sheldon Harnick wrote, "Any young writer who would like to write for theatre should take advantage of the opportunity afforded by the Waa-Mu Show. Not only will his material be set, costumed, and orchestrated in a professional manner, but even more importantly it will be performed in front of large audiences...Whether the experience is exhilarating or depressing, it's bound to be enlightening."
Participants have included Warren Beatty, Paul Lynde, Walter Kerr, Gregg Edelman, Cloris Leachman and many more. As Lynde wrote to Joe Miller from New York in 1956, "The three Waa-Mu shows I did with you at NU still rank above anything I have done or seen in this town." To sum up the old cliché, you have to see it to believe it, certainly rings true for what the Associated Press once called "the greatest college show in America."
The 2006 Waa-Mu show was Jubilee in order to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the production. This show included a combination of original songs and pieces from previous shows.
[edit] References
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Academics |
Judd A. and Marjorie Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences • School of Communication • School of Music • J. L. Kellogg School of Management • Robert R. McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science • Medill School of Journalism • School of Education and Social Policy • Feinberg School of Medicine • Northwestern University School of Law |
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Athletics |
Big Ten • Go U Northwestern • Northwestern Wildcats • NUMB • Ryan Field • Welsh-Ryan Arena • Willie the Wildcat |
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Campus |
Chicago • Evanston • The Lakefill • The Rock • Technological Institute |
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Culture |
Alumni • The Daily Northwestern • Dance Marathon • Dillo Day • Dolphin Show • Mee-Ow • NNN • Waa-Mu • WNUR |
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