Cast of 'Fame' surprises and delights

"Fame" came to the IU Auditorium Tuesday and Wednesday, and with it came an interesting night of ups and downs. Through the show, the audience had the chance to see four years in the lives of a group of high school students attending a performing arts school in the early 1980s. As the show progressed, the students struggled, learned, grew, and changed as they worked toward their dreams of stardom. What was even more interesting than this progression, however, was the progression of the production itself. The first act was a mishmash of well-meaning actors with failing voices and microphones and overly-simplistic lyrics and themes. The best voices were given only momentary solos, and the jokes seemed forced and cliched. In watching the show, one was reminded less of a professional play and more of a school talent show that was trying too hard.\nA new show, however, came in following the intermission. This "Fame" was polished, engaging, and thoroughly entertaining. The sound technicians pulled their act together just in time for the characters' metamorphoses into polished upperclassmen. Many of the voices, which sounded strained or weak in the first act. blossomed in the second. And it wasn't just the actors pretending to improve. Confidence, energy, and some major improvements in the technical aspects of the show combined (better late than never) to truly present the talent of the cast. Actors Mekia Cox (Carmen Diaz), Colin Cunliffe (Nick Piazza), and Anthony Wayne (Tyrone) all began the show with stiff humor and strained voices, but with time their performances seemed to gain the same maturity that their characters were supposed to be developing. Likewise, the adorably awkward "Serena Katz" (Megan Lewis), the friendly flake "Greta Bell" (Dana Barathy), the lovely but sheltered "Iris Kelly" (Julie Burdick), and the no-nonsense powerhouse "Miss Sherman" (Toni Malone) only got better as the night went on. Their solos and dancing left the auditorium ringing and the audience breathless. Also worth mentioning was Kellee Knighten's solo "Mabel's Prayer." This song was long in coming -- Knighten had very few moments to herself in the first act, but her soulful voice and improvisational skills proved to be worth the wait. \nThough the show could have turned out to be a bad public service announcement with its less than subtle messages about drugs and dropping out of school, by the end of the evening there was no doubt that this show was something special. The costumes were a fun, retro romp. The sets and choreography were superb. What really made this show what it was, however, was the youthful energy and joyful honesty of the actors themselves. Their faults were those of the inexperienced, but their raw talent was equal to the greatest casts. The standing ovation that the grand finale received implied that with a little more work, fame just might be in the future of this cast.