What’s recently happened?
“Six” the musical was performed at the Valparaiso University Center of the Arts (VUCA) this past weekend with a total of five shows. This musical is about the six wives of Henry VIII and what these women went through.
Here are the six wives:
- Catherine of Aragon was played by Ava Cunningham. This wife and Henry VIII left the church to divorce.
- Anne Boelyn was Molly Cooper, and her story is that she was beheaded.
- Jane Seymour was Emme Curran, who died after giving birth to her son.
- Anne of Cleves was Max Phelps, and she was divorced because she wasn’t pretty enough.
- Katherine Howard was Hannah Loving, and this wife was beheaded as well.
- Catherine Parr was Camryn Ruiz. She was taken from her true love and forced to marry Henry VIII.
The wives compete to see who the audience thinks had the worst life, each singing their individual songs. All six of the actors on stage sang extremely well and didn’t miss a note while doing choreography in sync.
“Jane Seymour was insane. I got literal goosebumps,” Halyn Pumroy said.
At the end of the musical, the sixth wife changes the perspective. Ruiz portrayed this really well. The musical was changed from the wives comparing themselves to the wives coming together to share their story, not just their husband’s. The ending song was about changing it from history to “her-story.”
“I liked the end number where they all came together to sing,” said Karsyn Klein.
This is a very challenging musical to do well. The vocals are not easy by themselves, so adding on choreography can be near impossible. However, the actors absolutely crushed it. Their ability to harmonize so well, dance as if they were all connected, and keep the audience engaged while staying focused was astonishing.
What’s coming up?
The Fourth of July is going to bring a celebration to Urschel Field in Valparaiso. The event will start at 5 p.m. During this function, there will be many food trucks ranging from dinner to drinks to even desserts. There will be tents that sell many festive props such as light sabers, patriotic sunglasses, and other red, white, and blue trinkets. Not only will there be tons of food to choose from and fun things to buy, there will also be live music with a concert-like feel. The annual fireworks show is scheduled to begin at 9:15 P.M.
“I’m so excited for the fireworks show. I go every year,” said Valparaiso Resident Reagan Luedtke.
Community member spotlight:
Dan Mitten is a retired Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms (ATF) agent. He originally worked in a prosecutor’s office as an investigator. Mitten met an ATF agent and worked with him during that job and realized that he wanted to apply to be an agent.
Part of his job as an ATF agent was working with state and local law enforcement departments. He met many officers throughout Indiana and enjoyed working with them. Mitten ran a task force which was the highlight of his job. He loved being able to work with many different people sharing the same passions as him.
On the job, he met his wife. The two of them originally worked together and were amazing partners.
“I loved working with her. We thought very much alike when it came to work. She was always a great partner,” Mitten said.
Mitten has two twin daughters, Erin and Elizabeth, now 29 years old. When they were at Wheeler High School (WHS), Elizabeth joined the cross country team. Mitten was interested in helping out with the team, but he was still working as an ATF agent when they graduated.
Five years later, Mitten hit the age of mandatory retirement and decided to start volunteering for the WHS cross country team. Mitten had started running to meet ATF requirements and fell in love with it.
Joining the team as a volunteer seemed like a no-brainer. Mitten sent out a message to the coaches, Ben Kosal and Louis Guillen, and ended up meeting Guillen at a cafe. He has been a volunteer ever since. Mitten loves watching the kids grow from freshmen to seniors. “Cross kids become engineers, police officers, nurses, and so much more. I love watching where they end up,” said Mitten.
Mitten believes that cross country teaches discipline.
“It’s a very tough sport, and I’m proud of any kid in cross country because it prepares them for what comes next in life,” Mitten said.
Mitten looks forward to each season, specifically the races. He loves to watch the hard work the kids put in pay off. He always waits at different points of the races and makes sure to cheer every runner on.
“I’m so lucky to work with a couple of great coaches and hardworking runners,” said Mitten.
