Even if you have not heard the music of Cole Porter, the Purdue University Fort Wayne Department of Theatre has a fantastic show in store.

Whether you’re a Porter enthusiast or a casual theatergoer, you’re sure to enjoy Hot ‘n’ Cole: A Cole Porter Celebration at Williams Theatre. There will be three performances from April 5-7.

Telling a story

The musical review is directed by Dr. Julie Lyn Barber, head of the new Bachelor of Fine Arts program at the university. She said the show will feature a cohort of music that people know and love, but with some modern takes.

The first half is a story that takes place in Cole’s birthplace of Peru, just west of Wabash. 

Barber said the actors use Porter’s music to “act out going to New York and the actor experience of doing an audition, and what it’s like to go from chorus girl to the star of the show, and then New York high society party.”

From there, the show hops over to Hollywood, where Porter spent the latter half of his life. This section portrays romance blossoming then falling apart, albeit, Barber notes, in a tongue-in-cheek, fun way.

“And then we end with an homage to Paris, which is maybe where he felt actually most at home,” Barber said.

Outside of the story, the audience will be enthralled by engaging spectacles that include eight singing actors, a small, on-stage ensemble band, and even some can-can. 

Unique Experience

A musical review can present unique challenges to a director since actors do not necessarily play the same character throughout. Rather, they play different sides of themselves from scene to scene. 

“I always find a review challenging because it’s not a set story,” Barber said. “So you’re presented with, especially in this one: It’s all music, they only have a handful of spoken lines. So, the actors are really using their triple-threat skills of singing and dancing through the whole thing. 

“And so, as the director, I have to decide what story we’re going to tell with the music, which is really fun actually, but also a challenge in that you don’t know what’s going to work until you get into the rehearsal hall. But then, that’s where the actors’ interpretations of the songs, as well, kind of help guide who these characters are.”

Barber described the show, whose one act comes in at under an hour-and-a-half, as “a great little escape from the outside reality.”

“It kind of feels like you get to come to a party, and you don’t have to be the one coming up with conversation, and you don’t have to have too much background information about anything,” she said.

Impressed with city

This school year marks Barber’s first year at PFW.

“The biggest surprise to me when I came to interview here was actually how beautiful Fort Wayne is,” she said. “As close as I had been living, near Muncie, I hadn’t been up very often. I think we came up to see The Nutcracker. But really, the rivers I love. I grew up in Canada on a lake, and kayaking was my sport in high school.”

Previous to helping develop and now lead the BFA program, she led the BFA program at Western Kentucky University. The experience in the arts scene at PFW and the broader city has been a positive experience for Barber.

“It’s a small department, which is really advantageous, I think, for each person involved, because in some of the bigger programs that exist, sometimes students feel like they’re kind of slipping through the cracks,” she said. “Students here definitely get a lot of opportunities for really interacting with the productions.”

Barber also pointed to the multifaceted skillsets of the faculty as being particularly advantageous for instructing this generation of fine arts students.

“I really love that well-roundedness being demonstrated in the faculty as well as what we’re trying to impart to an upcoming generation of theater artists,” she said.

As for the broader arts community in Fort Wayne, Barber said there are so many great opportunities for arts for “what feels like a small town.”

“I know it’s a big city, but it’s got that really nice community feeling but also really rich in the arts community in the city itself, even beyond the university,” she said.