Jaclyn Amber Nischbach to perform in KU production of 'Over Here!'

2014 Apr 10

The University Theatre finishes its 2013-2014 season with the big band musical “Over Here!” Performances will be April 25, 26 and May 2, 3 at 7:30 p.m. and April 27 and May 4 at 2:30 p.m. in the Crafton-Preyer Theatre. Among the cast is Jaclyn Amber Nischbach, of St. Louis. She is the daughter of Mark and Joyce Nischbach and a sophomore in theatre performance.

Tickets for “Over Here!” are on sale now at KU ticket offices and online at www.kutheatre.com. Tickets are also available by calling the University Theatre, (785) 864-3982, and the Lied Center, (785) 864-ARTS. Tickets are $20 for the public, $19 for senior citizens and KU faculty and staff, and $10 for students and children 5-18.

“’Over Here!’ is a big dance show that really portrays the sheer joy and excitement of musical theatre. The music of the 1940s is a genre that truly says ‘this is American music;’ it is just out-of-this-world good,” said John Staniunas, director, choreographer and professor of theatre. “This performance also celebrates the lives of the Sherman brothers and their prolific writing history.”

With a score by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman and book by Will Holt, “Over Here!” is a pastiche big band concert set in 1940s America. It takes a nostalgic look back at this post-war period while commenting on fears of war and discrimination. The story is about what was happening over here versus what was happening over there.

“The musical is staged in a period that many young people don’t know much about, but is so important to our history as a nation,” Staniunas added. “Audience members will walk away with a renewed sense of what it means to be an American, what it means to come together as a society. The show is filled with nostalgic patriotism.”