By JEANNI RITCHIE

A musical revue of songs taken from Broadway’s finest musicals that explore the human search for love will be presented by Theatre Louisiana Christian and LCU Music at the Martin Performing Arts Center this Friday and Saturday.

 

To: Love wherever I may find you is an original production of some of your favorite numbers from top musicals, past and present.

 

The show starts with a command: Go see a musical! The Something Rotten number by the entire cast was a perfect way to start the show.

 

The rousing numbers were a delight, with some I knew and some I discovered for the first time. In addition to Something Rotten, Act I had musical numbers from Anything Goes, Les Misérables, Finding Neverland, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Anastasia, Guys and Dolls, Ragtime, and Westside Side Story.

 

My absolute favorite was Taylor, the Latte Boy performed by Camdyn Fehr from the musical Goldrich, which is now my new obsession. I have to see this show!

 

I’d already felt a deep connection from the time I arrived, any theater always feeling like home but the theater on the LCU campus was extra special. It is my personal origin story, where my parents met and fell in love. My first crib was in LC’s married campus housing. But when Fehr, Italia Sosa, and Amelia Perkins sang I Feel Pretty from West Side Story, I relived another childhood memory.

 

One of my first auditions for community children’s theater was in the gymnasium of North Bayou Rapides Elementary and Jan Reich was directing the production. She taught us the chorus from I Feel Pretty and I’d been feeling anything but pretty. Yet on the stage I discovered I could be anything I wanted to be. I had no idea that I’d end up growing into the entire song, complete with the townspeople calling me the craziest girl on the block! I laughingly concur.

 

The show, arranged and directed by Music Professor Enrico Michael Cannella flowed easily and illuminated the talents of the student cast who not only performed flawlessly but also directed and choreographed various numbers.

 

Act II kept up the same energetic pace and themes of affection with numbers from Caberet, Catch Me If You Can, Jekyll and Hyde, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Dear Evan Hansen, Wicked, and Frozen 2.

 

Cheyenne Blake blew me away in Getting Married Today from Company, although the song title is misleading because she was absolutely, positively NOT getting married!

 

I laughed through Taylor, the Latte Boy: A Response from Goldrich performed by Walls while secretly wondering if my intensity in relationships comes off as stalkerish too! The absurdity of theater is such an incredible way to process some of our deeper thoughts in a lighthearted way.

 

The show’s electrifying ensemble finale led by Blake was The Greatest Showman number that once gave me the most profound message in my mental health journey: This is Me. The empowerment of accepting oneself unapologetically is one we should all embrace. We are all made in God’s image and there is a place for every one of us. Seeing this concept brought to life onstage is healing as well as entertaining.

 

Full cast list: A’melia Perkins, Caleb Williams, Colleen Andrews Williams, Camdyn Fehr, Carmen Taffi, Cayden Walls, Cheyenne Blake, Italia Sosa, and Joseph Johnson.

 

Shows are Friday, April 19 at 7 P.M. and Saturday, April 20 at 2 P.M. Doors open an hour before showtime and tickets can be purchased at www.purplepass.com/tlcmusicshowcase.

 

The Martin Performing Arts Center is located at 1140 College Drive in Pineville.