Curtain Call, the University of Lynchburg’s musical theater ensemble, will perform a cabaret-style show at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 15, in the Robert C. Hailey Theatre at Dillard Fine Arts Center. The public is invited. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased online.

The concert, Curtain Up Writers Workshop New York Cabaret, is a dress rehearsal and fundraiser for an upcoming performance at 54 Below, one of New York City’s premiere cabaret clubs, on Wednesday, Jan. 8. Tickets for that show can be purchased through the 54 Below website.

The Nov. 15 preview and the 54 Below show in January are extensions of Lynchburg’s Curtain Call Songwriters Workshop, a unique collaboration that takes place in the spring semester and has been happening at Lynchburg since 2018.

During the workshop, students work with emerging New York City songwriters to create original songs. The songs are then performed in a concert at Hailey Theatre.

Past Songwriters Workshops have involved award-winning songwriters, among them Rona Siddiqui, music director of the Tony- and Pulitzer Prize-winning Broadway musical “A Strange Loop,” and Billy Recce, who wrote music and lyrics for “FIVE: The Musical.” Recce’s work also garnered a BroadwayWorld Award for Best Off-Broadway Musical.

“It’s the unique partnership between young professionals and students that garnered us the invitation to perform at 54 Below,” Dana Ballard, Curtain Call’s director, said. “To go to New York City and actually perform original music in a Broadway venue is an amazing, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, both for the University and the students.

“It’s recognition on a national level, much like winning a national championship for a sports team. 54 Below calls it our ‘New York City debut.’ This will only happen once, so we hope people will come out and support this preliminary concert, featuring exactly what will be heard in New York.

“I hope that people will show these students how much their efforts are appreciated!”

Curtain Call will travel to NYC via Amtrak on Tuesday, Jan. 7, perform at the 54 Below the next evening, and return to Lynchburg on Friday, Jan. 10. In addition to performing at 54 Below, the group of 12 students and two faculty members will see two Broadway shows and visit the Museum of Broadway.

It will be the second trip to the Big Apple for theatre major Lane Payne ’27. The first time he went was with his high school theater troupe. Earlier this month, Payne played Dr. Watson in the Lynchburg production of “Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery.”

Other acting credits include, among others, the Narrator in the University’s 2023 holiday film, “The Grand Hopwood Hall,” which also features current Curtain Call members Arilyn Webster ’26 and Nico Thomas ’25. It’s Payne’s second year singing with Curtain Call.

After graduating from Lynchburg, Payne hopes to “act for a few years” but ultimately pursue a career in scenic design or technical directing for a professional theater. He’s looking forward to performing at 54 Below and open to whatever opportunities the experience brings with it.

“I mean, I know it’s a long shot, but I’m hoping this is where I get discovered!” Payne said in October. “And even if it’s not, this is an amazing opportunity regardless. How often do people get to perform at 54 Below?”

For more information, email Ballard at [email protected].