Broadway coming to Libby

During a Christmas party in December, Abbie Miller and Justin Lauer cheerfully sang show tunes to one another. Ever so nonchalantly, the idea of putting together a show in Libby bubbled to the surface. It wasn’t the first time the idea was proposed, but it was the first time the idea took.

“A week later I texted her ‘Let’s do a show,’” Lauer said. “So we got people, we managed to get some good sponsors and we’re like ‘Hey this is actually possibly a thing.’ So we’ve ran with it ever since.”

It’s the first performance put together by the two young thespians, which they’re billing as the biggest Broadway event of the season. “Broadway, Here I Come” is a musical showcase that will be performed at the Libby Memorial Events Center on April 25 at 7 p.m. 

The show is free to the public, but donations will be accepted. All proceeds from the performance will be donated to the events center so community shows like this can continue in the future.

Ten cast members will perform a variety of song and dance numbers from classic musicals like “Phantom of the Opera,” “Wicked,” “Hairspray,” and “Fiddler on the Roof,” as well numbers from modern musicals such as “Smash.”

“We wanted to keep it really small, so we limited the cast to 10,” Abbie Miller said. “About half of the cast are friends of mine from dance and the other half are friends of Justin’s.”

Lauer said they feel like they cheated a little bit by not conducting auditions for the show, but since it is their directorial debut they didn’t want to complicate matters further. 

“We wanted to keep it small so we knew who we’re working with and didn’t have to learn a bunch of new personalities and how to work with them,” Lauer said.

Another aspect of the show that makes things a little easier for the green directors is the performance is a hodge-podge of Broadway hits. 

“It’s a bunch of random songs and dances and stuff. There’s really no story or anything, which is nice, because no one had to develop characters. That stuff can take a long time, this is more off the cuff,” Lauer said.

The set list includes around 15 songs, all of which Miller is looking forward to watching and performing. 

“Out of the ones I’m in, I guess the one I’m most excited about is the one Justin and I do together, “For Good” from “Wicked.” That’s a song that we’ve always done before and after other shows. It’s a song that we both really like and thought it was perfect. So that’s going to be our opening, right after our big cast-opening number,” Miller said.

Lauer has taken charge of set design, with some help, and Miller has choreographed the dance routines for the performance.

“Half of them have never danced before in their life,” said Miller. “I’ve been pushing them quite a bit with the choreography and they’ve done great.” Performers that needed a little extra help put in additional work outside of the normal practice hours to tighten up their routines.

For Miller, the amount of time and energy it has taken to bring the show to the stage has brought on a whole new respect for what it takes to organize a performance from beginning to end. “I have a whole new respect for people that I’ve seen before put on shows by themselves,” Miller said. 

“I’ve always tried to be sympathetic to directors and choreographers and just the people in charge in shows, but I never really knew what that felt like. There was a lot more than I was expecting. There’s been so many little things that I never even thought of,” she said. 

“The funny thing is, it’s a lot more emotionally draining than I was expecting, that was never even a thought,” Miller said.

“Long hours and trying to fit it in with my schedule has been exhausting,” she said. Living 40 miles out of town and working at the Lincoln County Campus has left Miller with little time for anything else since the show’s first steps in February. 

Both Miller and Lauer decided to put together a show because of their love of theatre born in Libby. They said they’re excited to put forward a production and hope others will find inspiration and maybe test their mettle with doing the same.

“It’s how I fell in love with it, that’s why I wanted keep doing this kind of thing,” said Lauer. “I want to help other people enjoy it like I do. That’s one of my main things, I love going to shows and being in shows and promoting other people in town. I wish this town had more of it. So hopefully people will come to this and hear about other shows in town and continue supporting the arts in Libby.”

Lauer and Miller have different relationships with the theatre.

Miller has been involved with theatre since she was about five-years old. She played a raccoon in Little Red Riding Hood in a Missoula Children’s Theatre performance in Troy. 

But even before that, Miller would put on productions with her brothers as the other cast members. She dressed them up as girls when needed and she would often play boy roles, growing bored with playing the girl after a while. 

Later, Miller would attend summer workshops held on Flathead Lake with Missoula Children’s Theatre for six years. She said she’s always loved being in the spotlight.

The gradual move to the stage has been a little more of a struggle for Lauer. He was in speech and drama in high school, but his love of theatre has become more pronounced over the last couple of years. “Every time I get on stage I still fell my skin crawling, but it’s also an exciting feeling now. The terror has become part of the joy,” Lauer chuckled.

With only five days until the performance, Lauer and Miller are excited and, of course, nervous. 

Lauer is stoked for Saturday. “We’re not where we want to be with less than a week until the show, but that’s how every show goes. You never feel prepared, but you do it and it goes amazing,” Lauer said.

Miller’s main concern is if the choreography gets off a little bit if during one of the dance numbers, it could possibly snowball out of control. “The cast is going to do fine though,” Mille said. “For me I’m worried about forgetting something little, like unlocking the bathrooms or something weird like that,” Miller said.

Both Miller and Lauer are confident the show will go well and are happy to be part of the local art scene. They said the show wouldn’t have been possible without support from the community and several area businesses, to whom they graciously give thanks.