Bridge to Broadway

UMW Students Learn You Can Get There From Here

By Kristin Davis They had just watched Wayne Brady sing his heart out in a pair of blazing-red, thigh-high boots on Broadway. Now, somehow, they were unfurling themselves from the seats and the spell of the century-old Al Hirschfeld Theatre and sidling onto a sidewalk where patrons and frosty breaths lingered. But the night wasn’t over for 15 University of Mary Washington students who months ago had signed up for a one-of-a-kind class that culminated in a spring break trip to the theatre capital of the world. While fans pressed themselves against a barricade, hoping one of the red-booted cast members might peek out and speak to them, the backstage door opened and the students were swept in. Kinky Boots, five years running, had lived up its Tony Award-winning hype – especially with Brady in the role of Lola, the indomitable, show-stealing drag queen who helps save a family’s shoe business. The students had watched the stage from the faraway darkness. But now they stood on it, in … [Read more...]