Curtain Call, the University of Lynchburg’s musical theater ensemble, will present “New York, New York: The Hopes and the Heartbreak” at 7:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, April 5 and 6. The cabaret — described as “halfway between a concert and a musical” — will be held in Dillard Fine Arts Center’s Hailey Theatre. It’s free and open to the public.

As its title suggests, the show — complete with singing, dancing, and acting — will have a New York City theme with the “hopes and despair and the future of people who come to New York and what their experience is,” said Loretta Wittman, Curtain Call’s director.

The program opens with “New York, New York” from the Broadway musical and 1949 movie “On the Town,” performed by Conner Duryea ’24, Nico Thomas ’25, and Bobby Vinson ’25 as three sailors on shore leave. It closes with the famous Frank Sinatra song of the same name.

In between, there’ll be New York City-themed songs, along with music from “Thoroughly Modern Millie,” “Annie,” “Company,” “The Hunchback of Notre Dame,” and “Funny Girl,” and a whole section on “Hamilton.”

Following the show, donations will be accepted to fund Curtain Call’s January 2025 trip to New York City, where they’ll perform at a popular cabaret club. While in town, they’ll also see a Broadway show.

“We want to take everybody and we’ll be working on some fundraising,” Wittman said. “Since we don’t charge for the cabaret, it would be a lovely thing if people could donate a little bit to help us start saving for that.

“A number of our students have never even been to New York. They’ve never seen a show in New York. [Performing] in New York City will be an opportunity to meet and have conversations with other theatermakers in the city.”

At the cabaret club, Curtain Call will perform songs from its 2024 Curtain Up Songwriters Workshop, in which ensemble members collaborate with emerging New York composers and lyricists on original songs.

The songs are later performed at Hailey Theatre. This year’s concert will be held at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, May 3. Admission is free and the public is invited.

Wittman said they will start working on the cabaret club show this summer.

“We will be doing some of our new works with the composers and lyricists, many to most of whom live in New York City or near there,” she said. “They will be able to participate in the cabaret and see their work done.”