Published: October 22, 2009

Just a year and a half ago, while strolling up Columbus Avenue eating Nathan’s corn dogs, Kim Hawkey and Justine Rella, both Fordham College at Lincoln Center (FCLC) ’10, decided to pick up the pieces of the then-defunct musical theatre club, Splinter Group.  Now, after last spring’s trial performance of “Stages,” a musical revue which played to packed Fordham crowds, Hawkey and Rella have decided to do what they first envisioned—writing and producing a full-length original musical.  The result is “1998 Degrees,” a ’90s-meets-Broadway musical extravaganza. Or, as the directors put it, “Broadway loves the ’90s!”

Hawkey and Rella have spent the last 19 months creating what Rella said is “probably the biggest or most important thing I have ever done.”  “1998 Degrees” will be performed by none other than Fordham’s revived musical theatre club, Splinter Group, which provides the opportunity for anyone with even a passing interest in musical theatre to get involved.

“The cool thing about Splinter is that we have many people, from many different disciplines, who just like to do musical theatre,” Rella said. Hawkey is a music and psychology double major and Rella is a women’s studies major, but both love musical theatre.

So what is “1998 Degrees” really all about? As the title suggests, the directors are indeed alluding to the melodramatic ’90s pop boy band, 98 Degrees. Hawkey and Rella explain that, “1998 Degrees” was originally just a working title, but because everyone thought it was funny, it just stuck, and that is exactly what this production is all about.

The story revolves around the pseudo ’90s pop group “Hale Bopp,” a group of people inspired by the comet’s mystery, and the beautiful Destiny’s Child-esque back-up singers, “The Comets.”  The story follows the group as it prepares for their new “Radiation Tour.”  The group runs into a dilemma, like any good ’90s pop group, when one of the members starts having ideas of their own. Just think Justin Timberlake and *NSYNC, or Beyoncé and Destiny’s Child.

Hawkey and Rella have decided to leak the name of just one of the featured songs in  the show, “Waiting for Tonight” by Jennifer Lopez, which Rella said they “turned into the most beautiful waltz you have ever heard.” Hawkey and Rella are determined to keep the rest of the song list a secret, to allow the audience to enjoy the full excitement of recognizing childhood classics as they erupt from the stage enhanced by the big Broadway sound.

What is known is that the show hopes to put a whole new spin on these pop songs with the help of Assaf Glizner, a junior at SUNY Purchase and musical director of “1998 Degrees.” Glizner wants to make the songs more than pop hits by transforming them into serenading waltzes, sexy salsas or, as director Hawkey calls them, “saltzas,” while also including traditional Broadway big stage tap numbers. About one of those songs, Justin Hashimoto, FCLC ’12 and a member of the cast, said, “Its ridiculousness will tickle your funny bone.”

With 17 performers, 46 pages of dialogue, 40 minutes of songs and two inspired and dedicated young directors, “1998 Degrees” is turning into the first full-length musical theatre production performed at FCLC in years. But it has not all been a stroll up Columbus Avenue eating corn dogs; in fact, it’s been more like running across a street dodging cars. “We have everything to work out,” Rella said. Scheduling a large cast with no stage to rehearse on has presented numerous logistical problems.  As if scheduling wasn’t enough, Hawkey and Rella are playing the roles of costume mistress, producers and anything else that needs to be done. Despite the difficulties, Hawkey and Rella remain optimistic that the show will be ready by Nov. 7, when they will open “1998 Degrees” in the 12th Floor Lounge.

Through the rousing juices of Nathan’s corn dogs, and maybe a little Heinz ketchup and mustard drizzled on for inspiration, these two friends, Hawkey and Rella, have created a musical that is sure to be fun and exciting while awakening a sense of nostalgia for those classic ’90s hits that so many are fond of.

As Hashimoto put it, “It does what a musical is supposed to do—entertains you through song and dance, lets you slip away somewhere else for a few hours and allows you to leave with a catchy tune in your head and energetic rhythm in your body.”