Staging a new musical is no small feat for a regional theater, carrying significant financial and creative risk but also opening the thrilling possibility of putting one’s unique stamp on the American stage. It’s the high-stakes creative blank slate that makes artists giddy with the possibility of injecting something new and fresh into the world.
Larger DC-area theaters have had recent successes launching new works that went on to national success, A Strange Loop at Woolly Mammoth and Dear Evan Hansen at Arena Stage, to name a few. Now, Olney Theatre Center, after developing the teenage-Jesus tuner A.D. 16, is again dipping its toes into the new-work waters with the world premiere of Senior Class, an upbeat musical with book, music, and lyrics by Melvin Tunstall III and music and vocal arrangements by Greg Dean Borowsky.
Senior Class is a high-octane show infused with large ensemble dance numbers designed to lift spirits and inspire. Set at a New York City high school, the show follows a group of teenage thespians who are forced to get creative when the school loses funding for an upcoming production of My Fair Lady. Not one to be deterred by a setback, G.B., the privileged son of a successful opera singer, decides to write his own version of My Fair Lady based on the George Bernard Shaw source material. His BFF, the loud and proud Colin Crosby, is determined to use the show to catapult himself to stardom. When the duo meet Alizé, a scrappy Harlem-based dancer who performs in subway cars to raise cash and lift her own profile, they cast her as their Eliza Doolittle, and the three begin the determined journey to create a masterpiece.
Employing a play-within-a-play structure, Tunstall’s book cleverly mirrors the source material of Pygmalion/My Fair Lady, reenvisioning Shaw’s central characters as modern-day high schoolers with Colin, Alizé, and G.B. serving as contemporary versions of the elitist Henry Higgins, the determined but impoverished Eliza Doolittle, and the besotted Freddy. While the trio rehearses for their own production, their real-life interactions mirror those of the characters they are creating, with love blooming between the wealthy G.B. and the streetwise Alizé.
In this respect, Senior Class offers a fresh take on a familiar story, and the production elements in Director Amy Anders Corcoran’s production are uniformly top-notch. However, Senior Class’ script and score still need significant work before the show is ready for prime time. The show is, at its heart, a cute rom-com designed to leave us rooting for the protagonists and the eventual coming together of G.B. and Alizé. But the storytelling is not yet crisp enough, and the characters are not fleshed out enough for that storyline to truly soar.
For example, a major plot point in the show is the fact that G.B., who generally comes across as a nice guy, repeatedly alienates Alizé and other cast members by making elitist comments. This is a clear nod to Henry Higgins and the show’s My Fair Lady source material, but the insertion of snobbery into G.B.’s otherwise endearing personality feels like a forced way to create conflict in the plot. You just don’t believe G.B. is the sort of insulated snob who would say things like “You don’t look like Juilliard material” to someone he clearly loves and respects. Some nuancing of this characterization could solve this. Similarly, some of the comedic characters, such as G.B.’s opera singer mother and Colin, the ultimate drama kid, are too flat to be authentically entertaining caricatures and come across instead as tired tropes.
The score features a variety of musical styles, including ballads, duets, and several large dance numbers. Tunstall and Borowsky’s combined musical backgrounds lend contemporary sounds to a score that includes traditional show tunes, R&B, rap, and soul sounds. Unfortunately, several of the dance numbers feel repetitive, and the choreography (by Karla Puno Garcia and Voltaire Wade-Green), especially in the all-important opening number, “Downtown,” often fails to jump off the stage in a satisfying way.
While the opening number does succeed in introducing the show’s two protagonists and setting us firmly in modern-day New York City, the scene could do much more to establish what should be a seismic opposites-attract encounter between G.B.’s upper-crust yearning and Alizé’s drive to forge a better life for herself. In other songs, such as G.B.’s Act Two ballad “Where Do I Go from Here,” lyrics like “I’ve tried my best but sometimes life hands you a test” don’t rise to the level of pathos needed to fully ensnare our emotions.
None of this means that Olney’s production is not worth seeing, because it very much is, first and foremost for the insanely talented young cast. Lauryn Adams as Alizé and Jeffrey Cornelius as G.B. both have outrageous talent and supremely entertaining chemistry, making their journey toward togetherness a joy to watch. Adams, a recent college graduate who already made her Broadway debut (and earned a Grammy nomination) in last year’s revival of The Wiz, is an immense talent who shines in all aspects of the role. This is a performer who’s got it all. As G.B., Cornelius performs several ballads that show off a pristine tenor voice, and his onstage piano playing reinforces the impression that his is a singular talent. He also does a great job with sometimes clunky dialogue, giving what could have been a two-dimensional character deep authenticity.
Several of the large cast’s supporting members, such as Jordyn Taylor (Ty’Quasia) and Mia Goodman (McKenna), shine in prominently featured solo parts. Bradley Adam Stein goes full throttle as Alizé’s ego-driven foil, and Gwynne Wood is the embodiment of a mousy stage manager in a quiet role that steals the show and adds the perfect amount of levity to the script.
Kendra Rai’s costumes were exceedingly beautiful, from Colin’s British-dandy duds to the period costumes designed for the high school play. My only complaint is that the “high school costume department” outfits were so good that they diminished what is meant to be a wow-factor moment when the scrappy troupe is bequeathed some actual fancy costumes. There just wasn’t enough contrast between old and new. I also scratched my head a bit at the fact that G.B.’s opera singer mother (a talented Taylor J. Washington) was constantly decked out in floor-length opera gowns, even while lounging in her own living room and riding the New York subway. This is another example of an area where the play needs to reinforce the element of caricature in the role. An over-the-top, opera-obsessed mother could be a fun source of comedic relief, but in its current iteration, it is not.
Lawrence E. Moten III’s impressive set design features a massive rotating set piece that pivots from a perfectly rendered NYC subway car to the facade of a school building. Sound designer Kevin Alexander nails the iconic feel of the NYC subway but needs to pull back a bit on the number of trains running through the station prior to curtain. Trains don’t run continuously like that.
All in all, Olney’s Senior Class is a fun night out and a showcase for immense talent. The story of young artists creating new work after losing expected funding is timely now that federal budget cuts are having detrimental effects on arts institutions across America. In fact, in his pre-curtain speech on opening night, Artistic Director Jason Loewith shared that the grant that funded Senior Class was among those rescinded by the Trump administration’s recent cancelation of NEA grants. Luckily, the funds for Senior Class were eventually paid out just a week before the show opened. But as the arts embark on an uncertain future in an America that deprioritizes creative work, the arts sector will become increasingly reliant on the spunk and determination of young creatives like G.B. and Alizé, and the risk-taking creativity of artists like Melvin Tunstall III and the Senior Class team. May their willingness to defy the odds inspire us to do the same.
Running Time: Approximately two hours and 15 minutes with a 15-minute intermission.
Senior Class plays through June 22, 2025, on the Roberts Mainstage at Olney Theatre Center, 2001 Olney-Sandy Spring Road, Olney, MD. Tickets ($41–$110) can be purchased online, by calling the box office at 301-924-3400, or at TodayTix. Discounts for students, seniors, military, veterans, first responders, and educators are available here. Regular performances are Wednesday to Saturday at 7:30 PM and matinees on Saturday and Sunday at 1:30 PM. There are also performances on Wednesday, June 4 and 18, at 1:30 PM, and Sunday, June 15 and 22, at 7:30 PM.
The cast and creative credits are here (scroll down).
Senior Class
In association with Kevin Duda Productions, Inc.
Book, Music, and Lyrics by Melvin Tunstall III
Music and Vocal Arrangements by Greg Dean Borowsky
Conceived by Kevin Duda
Music Directed by Dolores Duran-Cefalu
Choreographed by Karla Puno Garcia
Directed by Amy Anders Corcoran
SEE ALSO:
Olney announces cast and creative team for new musical ‘Senior Class’ (news story, April 17, 2025)
