You’re going to remember the name.
Up and Coming Theatre Company and Elgin Summer Theatre present the musical “Fame.” Performances are at 7:30 p.m. July 14-15 and 21-22 and at 3 p.m. July 16 and 23 at the Hemmens Cultural Center in Elgin.
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Mary Grace Martens is directing and choreographing the musical. This is the Elgin native’s first time being involved with Up and Coming Theatre Company.
“I come from a dance background; I grew up as a competitive dancer and ‘Fame’ is definitely more of a dance show,” she said. “I was really excited that they had picked a show that could showcase dancers. That’s what drew me to it.”
There are about 30 people in the cast. In addition to a lot of dancers auditioning for the show, Martens said she had people audition who didn’t consider themselves to be dancers first.
“Fame” is based on the 1980 movie of the same name, which featured the Academy Award-winning title song by Irene Cara. It’s the story of teenage artists studying at New York City’s High School of Performing Arts.
“Normally it’s set in the ”80s; I chose to set our production in the present day,” she said. “It actually happens after the movie. There’s a reference in the script — ‘We’re the “Fame” high school.’ It follows the story of six or seven of these kids in the program of the High School of Performing Arts. It follows their four-year journey at the school.
“A few of them are actors, a few of them are musicians, a few of them are dancers. It follows their wins and their losses as they navigate this career they want to pursue. It really translates well to this group of people I’m working with. We have high schoolers playing high schoolers and they’re bringing their own selves into these characters.”
With setting it in modern times, she did adjust the style of dance but left the music alone.
“The music is very heavily influenced by salsa, the flamenco,” she said. “The gentleman who wrote it is of Latin-X background so that was very heavily influenced as they were writing it. There are definitely a lot of ’80s references in the script — Madonna and MTV and things like that.
“We’ve had to make a few script changes to bring it up to references that younger people coming to see the show would understand. And we’ve added bits of technology like phones and computers and texting and things like that.”
She thinks people will be drawn to the show not only for the nostalgia, but also because it’s not done as much.
“No one really does this show, so that’s awesome and also the name automatically right away gets (people’s attention) — ‘Oh “Fame,” I love that, let’s go see that,'” she said.
“What I think is going to get word-of-mouth … is that I really think people are going to be surprised at how talented this group of people is with their dancing. I think these audiences are going to be really surprised to see this entire cast of 30 people dancing together with great timing. I truly think the energy this cast is bringing is going to bring people back.”
Martens thinks that people should come see “Fame” because it’s a fun, lighthearted musical.
“I feel like a lot of times the shows that are popular, the shows that everyone is doing, are really solemn and serious and are like, ‘We want you to talk away thinking about something,'” she said.
“And of course, there are moments like that in the show that are really heartfelt and make you think about things but at the same time, ‘Fame’ is just fun. It’s about young people discover who they are and love what they’re doing and having excitement for the future. I think it’s an opportunity to forget your life for two hours and 15 minutes and enjoy musical theater.”
‘Fame’
When: 7:30 p.m. July 14-15 and 21-22; 3 p.m. July 16 and 23
Where: Hemmens Cultural Center, 45 Symphony Way, Elgin
Tickets: $24-$30
Information: 847-931-5900; uactheatre.org
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Annie Alleman is a freelance reporter for the Courier-News.