[BRIEF] Broadway Backwards: Ballads for a Cause

Daniela Peñafiel, Production Managing Editor

February 4, 2025

Applauding the other actors dancing around her, Oliver sits in the middle of the Black Box Theater during the musical piece “Gaston” from the musical “Beauty and the Beast.”

The theatre department put on its annual Broadway Backwards performance during lunch Friday, Jan. 31 in the Brandt Black Box Theater. This showcase featured seven songs from various musicals and gave theatre students a chance to play characters usually written for the opposite sex.

The show’s closing number, “Gaston” from “Beauty and the Beast,” included a full ensemble of students, with theatre senior Katherine Oliver playing the song’s titular role.

“Gaston has always been my dream role of all time,” Oliver said. “Broadway Backwards is a show meant, not necessarily just for boys to dress up as girls and vice versa, but for you to play a role that you’d never actually get a chance to play.”

This showcase was also a way for the theatre department to bring awareness to the non-profit organization Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, which helps fund AIDS research and provides health resources to people across the country. To some students, such as theatre junior Geneya Henderson, it “means a lot” to be able to represent such a mission.

“Broadway Backwards also promotes queer anthems, queer ballads, and all that by shedding lights on communities that don’t always get proper representation or help,” Henderson said. “I find it important so that everyone can feel comfortable no matter how they identify themselves. I think it’s a great place to be in theater to actually spread that cause.”

To learn more about Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS and how you can help, visit the official website.

Ripping open her top to reveal a muscle shirt, theatre senior Katherine Oliver imitates Gaston LeGume while rendering the song “Gaston” from the musical “Beauty and the Beast.” “(My favorite part was) absolutely my hair shirt,” Oliver said. “It stole the show. I’m gonna wear it every day.”

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Performing for the audience, theatre junior Geneya Henderson sings “I Believe” from the musical “The Book of Mormon.” She sang this solo piece as the character Elder Price. “I felt excited,” Henderson said. “The nerves that I had when I walked through the door just disappeared when I realized, ‘Oh my gosh, these are my friends I’m performing for.’ It was exciting … exhilarating.”

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Reaching a crescendo, theatre senior Sophia Papayannis performs the song “Grand Knowing You” from the musical “She Loves Me.”

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Dressed as a male character, theatre junior Sofia Bornia performs “Bad Bad News” from “13: The Musical.” Broadway Backwards was a show in which actors played roles meant for the opposite sex.

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Theatre junior Andrew Hopta spins up theatre freshman Tristan Dominguez while performing “Dance: Ten, Looks: Three” from the musical “A Chorus Line.”

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About the Contributor

Daniela Peñafiel, Production Managing Editor

Daniela Peñafiel is a third-year staffer and production managing editor on The Muse. She enjoys animating, cooking, and watching documentaries in her free time. Throughout her time on The Muse, Daniela has learned a lot from her fellow staffers. This year, she is looking forward to seeing the publication flourish!