The adventure began during their freshman year with a simple conversation about writing a musical.
Two years later, in late March, Ryan Cunningham and Thomas Curtin’s original musical comedy Chance at Love debuted before a packed house in the ballroom of the LaFortune Student Center. The success encouraged the Farley Hall Players to produce a CD of the music, and most of the same cast and crew took the show on tour this summer.
Curtin, a music theory major from Wichita, Kansas, composed the 15 musical numbers and Cunningham, a design and theater major from Needham, Massachusetts, wrote the script. The friends collaborated on the song lyrics.
Chance at Love centers on the dating successes and failures of three best friends and roommates: Tom (played by Ray Areaux ’04), Brett (Alan Maginn ’03) and Adam (Cunningham). The play’s characters occasionally mock the musical comedy format, as when Elmer (Matt Baggetta ’01) complains about his neighbors breaking into song randomly throughout the day.
The show’s creators, who will be seniors this fall, were planning an encore performance at ND and plan to stage Chance of Love in Bloomington, Minnesota, Cleveland and Philadelphia, among other cities, during July.
For more information about the tour or CD, write to Cunningham at rcunni1@nd.edu.