Music theatre students past, present, and future came together on April 1 to celebrate Elon's renowned Music Theatre program and President Leo M. Lambert's successful presidency.
Elon Music Theatre students past, present, and future were in attendance at Grand Night on April 1 to celebrate the success of the music theatre program and the wonderful legacy of President Leo M. Lambert.
Cathy McNeela, head of the Music Theatre program, had an idea to honor President Lambert by creating a “book” of collected notes and letters by music theatre students and alumni from every graduating class since Lambert’s first year at Elon. McNeela read a speech and one of the letters at the final performance of Grand Night on Saturday night at the 8:30 p.m. show, and six music theatre alumni were in attendance as well. Lambert then invited the entire music theatre program to the center of the stage for a big group hug as a final farewell.
The weekend was also a special one for music theatre students past and present. Ten of the incoming accepted music theatre students visited and attended the special performances of Grand Night, as the graduating senior music theatre majors gave speeches and “passed the torch” to the underclassmen.
Additionally, the weekend included the award ceremony for the Elon’s “Top 10 Under 10 Alumni,” which honored two music theatre alumni Rob Marnell ’06 and Ginna Claire Mason ’13. Mason was unable to attend, as she is currently touring the country as Glinda in “WICKED,” so McNeela accepted the award on her behalf. Marnell, currently in the Broadway cast of “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical,” was able to make the trip down to Elon to accept the award, attend Grand Night and visit Senior Seminar to talk to the senior music theatre majors about careers in New York.