By: Margot Dragos
Brooklyn College’s Musical Theater Collective (BCMTC) returned to Studio 312 in Roosevelt Hall Extension from Jan. 23 to Jan. 24 to perform the musical “Sondheim on Sondheim,” which encompasses American composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim’s 60+ year career.
Sondheim is revered as one of the most prominent and innovative figures from 20th-century musical theater and is known for musicals such as “Into the Woods,” “Company,” and “Sweeney Todd.” “Sondheim on Sondheim” contains 41 songs from 19 different musicals composed by Sondheim, featuring his greatest hits as well as lesser-known deep cuts. It also includes video interviews and archival footage of Sondheim himself projected on a screen throughout the performance, adding a personal account of Sondheim’s life story and writing process.
Studio 312 in Roosevelt Hall Extension was transformed for the performance. In the lobby, walls were adorned with Sondheim’s famous quotes and pictures from his life, such as when he won the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015. For the performance area itself, risers were used to elevate the audience section to mimic the look of a real theater.
“[There’s] something about the way they set up the space,” said Santana Rios, a BC alumnus, who came to see her friend, Shier Benhamou, act in the show. “Going to class here and then seeing it transformed differently is like, wow, they really made this so nice!”
The performance featured a live orchestra, who were also on stage throughout the duration of the musical. Cast members occasionally went through the aisles and interacted with audience members, such as during the song “Pretty Woman” from “Sweeney Todd.”
Various audience members discussed how they enjoyed the last song of act one, “Sunday,” which comes from Sondheim’s “Sunday in the Park with George” and featured a majority of the cast members.
“So far, my favorite part [was] Sunday, the end of act one,” said Joseph Whittle, a Brooklynite who came to see his friend Eloise Brown perform.
“There were so many good moments, like the opening was really cute, even the last song [of the first act], Sunday in the Park with George was really nice, too,” said Rios.
BCMTC previously performed “Sunday in the Park with George” in 2024 in the Tow Center’s Don Buchwald Theater, which was their first licensed musical production. Recently, the collective has had to relocate its productions to Studio 312 after being told that in order to rent out any theater in the Tow Center, they’d have to pay a steep price.
“[…] We were boxed out of the Tow Center entirely,” said Ryan Scott Martin, the music director, conductor, and president of BCMTC. “And that’s because they were trying to charge us close to $10,000 to use the theaters, which is obviously something that the students can never do.”
It is now uncertain whether or not BCMTC will be able to use Studio 312 for their next production as Roosevelt Hall undergoes renovations.
“We’re now being told that, apparently, they’re overhauling the HVAC system in 312, and it’s looking like we’re not gonna be able to use 312, either,” said Martin.
“The answer is not officially ‘no’ yet, it’s that [The Conservatory] is not getting any straight answers, so we can’t move forward with anything.”
However, BCMTC is confident they will continue to perform despite these setbacks.
“The reason our group still exists is because our team has been so persistent. We’ve been told no so many times, and we have never stopped,” said Martin.
The collective aims to allow collaboration between BC’s Music and Theater Departments, as there is currently no musical theater major at BC.
“[…] We’re in New York City, and this is the heart of musical theater in the world,” said Martin. “The reality is a lot of these students that are here studying classical music or other things are going to go on to perform [in musicals]. And we don’t really give them the opportunity to train here at Brooklyn College.”
Despite its fourth show on Sunday, Jan. 25, being cancelled due to the snowstorm, BCMTC’s “Sondheim on Sondheim” sold out all three of its performances.
BCMTC is hopeful that no matter what obstacles they encounter, they will continue to bring musical theater to the BC community.
“We care so much about this art form,” said Martin, “and we care so much about giving the students and the community this opportunity that whatever gets in our way, we’re gonna make it work.”
Students interested in supporting or joining BCMTC can follow and contact their Instagram at @bcmtc.