North Texas Daily

Brittany Armstrong // Intern Writer

Late one night, after being inspired by “Les Miserables,” music education senior Sam Chacon and political science major Jay Vashee decided to make their own musical. The next day, the duo spent nine hours hashing out the details and the plot. They eventually found themselves turning this “crazy idea” into a reality.

Over the course of the past 10 months, Chacon and Vasher employed the help of Chacon’s brothers at the Phi Mu Alpha Fraternity to help them. After holding tryouts in October, the crew currently has 53 people involved in the musical’s production, including both fraternity members and others.

The musical, “A Brother At The Door,” is set in the 1920s during prohibition and follows the friendship of Jerry Hastings and Frank Elsner. The musical emphasizes the brotherhood we find in friendship and how it can help us get through life’s challenges.

“We wanted to create a musical that expressed the idea of brotherhood in a relatable way that an audience could appreciate,” Chacon said.

In order to raise funds, Chacon has started a Kickstarter page with the goal of raising $1,500 by the end of March. The money will go toward providing costumes, set designs, composer fees and the cost of renting a venue. If the group does not meet its goal, the play will go on as planned and the creators will fund it out of pocket.

The musical will be presented in the UNT Auditorium, which will cost them $500 each time they rent it out. The shows are scheduled for April 18 and 19. Student tickets will be available at a later date on the group’s Facebook page.

During the musical, the main character, Jerry—played by music sophomore Justin Poirier—loses himself in tragedy and loss, but becomes a better person with the help of his friend, Frank.

Poirier said he relates to his characters Jerry and Frank.

Over the summer, he started to sing more often and realized how much he enjoyed it. He began singing his favorite songs from musicals and when he heard about auditions for “A Brother At The Door,” he knew it was the perfect opportunity to get involved.

Poirier is also a member of the Phi Mu Alpha fraternity and credits them with his vocal training.

“We have choir practice after every meeting,” Poirier said.

Music Education senior, Aaron Sanderson, is also involved in the musical. As music director, Sanderson overseas all of the music and is responsible for helping the cast get to know how their part fits with the pit and how the big musical picture fits together.

Sanderson conducts the musical as well, which means he has to know when the scenes change and the timing of the musical entrances and exits for each change of events on stage.

Music has also been a big part of Sanderson’s life as he is a saxophone and clarinet player. In high school, Sanderson played multiple instruments.

“It was always kind of one of my dreams to conduct a musical,” Sanderson said.“I love all the guys I work with. It’s not very often you get to work with people who will not only work their tails off for the musical but would do anything for you, as a friend.”

Feature photo: A Brother at the Door script. Photo courtesy of Sam Chacon