As a farewell to the season, over 40 members of the choir put together 24 performances after weeks of preparation to be seen by an audience of friends and family. Sophomore Audrey Schulz and junior Chris Lowery were the event’s finale, with an energetic tap duet of “You Can’t Have Me (If You Don’t Have Him)” from the show Some Like It Hot.
Schulz and Lowery recently performed together in a production of “The Prom” for Gateway Center of Performing Arts, and worked with choreographer Stephanie Fox to prepare their number for Singer’s Choice.
“It was so funny because we would say something that we wanted to do, but ours would be way over the top, extreme and crazy,” Schulz said. “Then she was really good at taking those ideas and then putting them into something that would make sense, that we were able to do it on stage while we’re singing and dancing and everything.”
In GCPA’s production of “The Prom,” Schulz and Lowery participated in a tap number that inspired portions of this duet.
“After ‘The Prom,’ we were very hyped and really into this tap situation, so we wanted to make sure we could do something like that together. It was so much fun to get to do a tap duet with Audrey. It was so wonderful to do that onstage,” Lowery said.
Schulz and Lowery contemplated many song ideas before landing on “You Can’t Have Me (If You Don’t Have Him),” but this choice was influenced by the pair’s similar appearance and energy.
“I feel like it can be hard to find duets that aren’t love songs,” Schulz said, “We could also play into the fact that we look very similar. Because I think the original shtick is like, ‘we’re brothers,’ but they look different. But our shtick was that we look the exact same.”
Schulz was very proud of their performance because she believes it was the best version of the song they had yet done.
Having been in shows since she was very young, Schulz has continually found new outlets for her passion.
“My favorite part about doing theater is how, every show and every performance, I feel like I rediscover my love for theater,” Schulz said.
Before the tap number, Schulz and Lowery waited backstage for their cue. Schulz found it difficult to sit still in her excitement.
“I just thought, ‘Oh my God. This is what we get to do. We’re performing this number that we have spent so much time on and that we’re obsessed with, we’re having so much fun, and now we’re getting to perform it.’”
Schulz and Lowery had strongly hoped to land a spot in the final performance, so they were eager to go on stage.
“I was backstage, and it just hit me, ‘we’re about to go on stage, and it’s gonna be amazing.’ I would say that’s my favorite part about theater— just that rush of adrenaline.” Schulz said, “Still, whenever I think about it, I’m bouncing my leg in excitement. I think that adrenaline and excitement, and all of the energy, and being able to rediscover that every show is super exciting.”
