The Mask and Wig Club’s “A Volcanic Corruption: Sun Intended” erupted onto the stage for the first time at Mask and Wig’s clubhouse in Center City this weekend.
The show marks the 123rd annual production for the Club, the University’s “oldest all-male musical comedy troupe.”
The show tells the story of three dysfunctional siblings stranded on an island. After one is captured by local tribesmen, the three engage in a power struggle — while the free siblings want to find their way home, the third wants to use the time to repair their relationship. The island’s volcano threatens to thwart all of their plans.
The opening weekend shows Friday and Saturday received positive reviews from crowds of students, friends, former Club members and other guests, who seemed to agree the show was “hilarious.”
“I was laughing the whole time,” College freshman Zack Tabor said after the Saturday performance.
Former Club members Pat Pow-anpongkul, a 2009 Wharton graduate and Jamie McCarthy, a 2009 Engineering graduate, were also pleased. “Out of all the Wig shows I’ve seen, [‘A Volcanic Corruption’] had the best music, writing and staging,” McCarthy said.
“A Volcanic Corruption” arrived on the scene after hard preparation, members were quick to explain.
First, the junior and senior troupe members — called “Clubbies” — write and rehearse a basic “skeleton show” each summer, said College senior Billy Frierson, one of the show’s cast members and co-writers. “Then we trimmed, prepped and pruned it to make [A Volcanic Corruption].”
The group rehearsed thirteen hours a day on weekends and five to six hours on weekdays, College freshman and cast member Zach Tomasovic said. “It was a lot of hard work … [but] we’re so excited for our audiences.”
Other cast members, including College junior David Thayer, agreed. “Every night is a new playground,” he said.
Indeed, gauging from Friday and Saturday’s crowds, Mask and Wig’s frequently inappropriate antics inspire lighthearted play in its audience. “In the end,” said Tabor, “I think everyone can enjoy coming together to watch grown, hairy men dance and sing in drag to give us a laugh.”
The musical runs until April 8 every weekend at the Mask and Wig Clubhouse except during Penn’s spring break in March, when the Club will take the show on tour to New York City, Pittsburgh, Chicago and Detroit.
“We’re putting everyone on a bus and taking the show with us,” Engineering senior and Mask and Wig Chairman Omar Maskati said. “We’ve had so much fun making it and hope that audiences enjoy it just as much.”
