Musical to help fund choir trip

ACC's choir program generated buzz this week when its much anticipated production of "The 1940's Radio Hour" debuted on Tuesday, Nov. 17 at the One World Theatre.

Set in 1942, "The 1940's Radio Hour" captures the essence of this time period with 20 musical numbers that incorporate song, dance, and pop culture concepts into one big musical production.

After competing in a nationwide community choir audition, ACC's choir was recognized and chosen to perform at Carnegie Hall in New York City in April. The money raised from ticket sales to "The 1940's Radio Hour" will be used to help cover the cost of the trip to New York. "The 1940's Radio Hour" ran from Nov. 17 to19.

Under the direction of ACC's choir director, Dr. Jim Shepherd, as well as co-director, choreographer, and former ACC student Tamia Zulaya, "The 1940's Radio Hour" captures a play within a play by integrating both theatre and choir into the mix.

Working to bring out the best in the theatre portion of this production, Zulaya discussed how important student input was in bringing a fresh new take on this production, "I asked the students every day of rehearsal what ideas they had, what they brought. I always was open to whatever ideas they had." As a result, "The 1940's Radio Hour" incorporates elements such as comedy, mock commercials from the era, and much more.

The musical takes place during the second World War in a little New York radio station. It was originally written by Walton Jones.

"I knew we had the group for it this year because we built the choir program over the last couple of years. I knew I finally had the group that could really pull it off," said Shepherd who had wanted to do this production for some time.

For Shepherd, "The 1940's Radio Hour" not only represented a personal achievement as a director, but also a much more significant effort to raise money for his students as they encounter a once in a lifetime opportunity to sing at Carnegie Hall.