On Saturday, Dawson Auditorium was alive with the sounds of songs from over 25 different Broadway musicals. The traveling music group Motif sang songs from all sorts of famous musicals. Some were more popular songs like “Aquarius” from the musical “Hair” to some lesser known songs like “I Am What I Am” from the musical “La Cage Aux Folles.” The event lasted two hours with a 15-minute intermission.
The Motif cast consists of 23 members, seven of which are Adrian College alumni. The seven Adrian alumni are Becky Ditto, Penelope (Penny) Hallas, Jessica Kobel, Ashely Laabs, Tom Pavlovich, and the two founders of the show, Eric Swanson and Gerianne Ditto. Almost the entire cast holds some sort of musical degree. Most have musical theater degrees, but some have degrees in music education and some just have minors in music. Others are well-versed in music and have a vast experience in the field.
The group started off the night with a group number of “Aquarius” from the musical “Hair”. There were six group numbers throughout the night and two songs that broke the cast up into the “Motif Gentlemen” and the “Motif Ladies.” The rest of the numbers were individual numbers that showcased the many talents of the cast.
“I had a blast,” said freshman Jessica Whelan. “It is a shame that more people didn’t come.”
Even though there was a small turn out for the event (about 25 people total in the audience), it was still a huge success. Everyone that went to the event raved about how fantastic the performers were and how much fun they had as an audience. One audience member, Mark Hyre, had actually worked Swanson.
“I loved the show. I’ve been in a show with Eric before and I loved it. You can tell that the entire cast really puts their heart into it,” said Hyre. “They are totally committed. It’s completely heartfelt, and you can tell it’s their purpose in life [to perform].”
The show ended with the big musical number “You Can’t Stop the Beat” from “Hairspray,” in which Swanson came out dressed as John Travolta’s character from the movie version of “Hairspray.”
The cast then did their encore of “Let The Sunshine In” also from “Hair.” During this song, the cast jumped off the stage, danced down the aisles of the auditorium, and encouraged the audience to stand up, clap, and sing along. After the performance, the cast held a meet and greet with audience members in the lobby of Dawson.
Audience members could talk to the performers as well as have their pictures taken with them. The audience and performers had a great time.
“I had a lot of fun,” said freshman Mia Gladieux. “It was very well put together.”
Motif is based out of Detroit. They tour the state doing performances. For further information on Motif and their music, check out musicofmotif.com or look up Motif (musician/group) on Facebook. To contact Motif for scheduling an event, email Swanson at esswanson@gmail.com or Gerianne at gditto@gmail.com. For group rates and quotes, email musicofmotif@gmail.com.
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