April 11, 2017

A dogfight broke out as twelve talented students from Behrend performed “Dogfight: The Musical,” based on the book by Peter Duchan, with music and lyrics by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul. “Dogfight” is what some like to call a “romantic comedy.” Although this is true, there is much more to that label. This musical portrays a young Marine named Eddie Birdlace (Brooks Bennett) who takes a lady named Rose (Lia Vinciguerra) to a party, which is based on an old military tradition during the Vietnam era where military men competed with one another to win the ugliest date in return for some cash. Birdlace tricks innocent Rose to the dance, along with his hot-headed best friend, Boland (Anthony Ventura) who bribes a sassy hooker, Marcy, (A’ary Fontes) to join the contest in return for some of the profit. Bernstein (Kyle Filbeck), who portrays the nerdier soldier, also played along with the contest, and sent laughs across the audience with his awkward and creepy dance moves. Rose, even though she did not “win” this contest, is appalled with Birdlace and his friends and storms out of the party. The show depicts the battle of friendship and love Birdlace faces on and off the battlefield between his best friends and his love interest, Rose. 

On Saturday, April 8, these Behrend students gave their last performance for this spring’s musical, and did a fantastic job. The characters portrayed such emotion that it reached every audience they performed for. Ashley Meyer, a Plastics Engineering Technology (PLET) sophomore, said “I thought it was a great time. The entire cast did a fantastic job. You’ll definitely shed some tears by the end of the production!” Seconding her statement, Cameron Shoemaker, a Mechanical Engineering (ME) junior, stated that he, “thought it was really quite good, especially considering the space they had to work with.” By this, Shoemaker was referring to the limited space in the Studio Theater. There is not much room compared to a lot of performances done by other schools. Although this is the case, these aspiring actors and actresses did a great job of putting together a musical and making it look like a big production, even though it was done in a small place. 

However, the talented actors in the show were prepared for the limited space, and used sharp choreography and energetic vocal numbers to keep the audience on the edge of their seat. The three leading men, (Bennett, Ventura, and Filbeck), portrayed realistic soldiers during the Vietnam era, with each actor delivering their own unique twist with their characters. Bennett showed exceptional character development throughout the show as Birdlace, as he starts off as a typical “jarhead” Marine, looking for vulnerable women to objectify, to eventually branching away from this character and focusing on his morals. Ventura,who played a natural-born asshole with crude intentions, delivered outstanding chemistry with Bernstein and Birdlace, as his hot temper becomes increasingly believable as he sees a change in his best friend’s behavior because of Rose. Bernstein, played by Filbeck, is the comedic relief of the show who delivers his humorous lines with over-exaggerated awkwardness and clumsiness. Rose, played by Lia Vinciguerra, delivers an empowering female lead through her quirky attitude and compassionate performance. Her character development throughout the show is powerful, as her emotional songs captivated the audience.The fighting scenes, on and off the battlefield, are extremely emotional, as we see the three best friends struggle to maintain their brotherhood while battling their own morals. Overall, the show delivered a tastefully vulgar aura that illustrated a realistic attitude of “fresh-out-of-bootcamp” Marines. The military-based musical depicted a sense of reality between what is morally right and what is easiest to conform to, in which the audience could relate to. 

Two of the actors in “Dogfight” were not ready to stop talking about the musical once it ended. Anthony Ventura, who played Boland, wanted to share his experience a bit more in depth. “This show had some of the best character progression that I have experienced in a production,” he stated. “It was a hilarious comedy that still was able to deal with some dark and serious content. The music is fantastic and the story is deep and personal. I absolutely loved working with this cast and hope to work with many of them again soon.” Kristopher Knorr, an International Business and Finance junior exclaimed, “I really enjoyed being a part of the musical, especially since I didn’t originally audition. It was a wonderful experience with a lot of talented and fun people!”

With “Dogfight” coming to a close, students are eager to see what the production team will come up with in the fall. With director Emily K. Cassano working with these gifted people, anything can be possible in the world of theater.