Backburner Sketch Comedy during rehearsal on Feb. 19 at Enarson Classroom Building. Credit: Ashley Kimmel | Lantern Reporter
Backburner Sketch Comedy is mixing sex and song this weekend in the club’s premiere of “Spit in My Mouth: The Musical,” an original piece written by one of its club members.
The musical tells the story of Greg and Amy, a young couple who lose their virginity together, and the journey they take in discovering sex, Quinn Wright, the composer of the musical and a fourth-year in film studies, said.
Wright said his goal for the musical is to promote sex positivity and nonjudgmental attitudes toward others’ sex lives.
“It’s definitely got a message everyone should hear,” Wright said.
Backburner hosts at least three shows each year that all follow the same format: the presentation of the show’s theme — a musical in this case — with a stand-up performance from the host and a few unrelated comedic sketches from club members in between each piece of the theme’s plot, Wright said.
Although the club has done individual musical sketches in the past, making a show’s entire theme a musical is something new for the group and has made this the most rehearsed show the group has done, Wright said.
“Even though I can’t sing at all, I just love musicals,” Wright said. “I’ve always wanted to do one.”
Wright added that because he does not know how to write music or play an instrument, writing a musical proved to be a challenge, so he started just by writing lyrics. He then worked with other group members to help translate his work and the vision he had for the show in his head.
RG Barton, a fourth-year in psychology and president of Backburner, said the group likes to choose a student outside of Backburner to host each show. This show’s host will be Ella Hickman, a third-year in marketing and a member of Buckeye Standup Comedy Club. This is the first time Backburner has worked with Hickman.
Not only does Barton play Greg in the story, but he will also appear in some of the unrelated sketches in between the musical. Barton said he played an important role in working with Wright to make the music for the show as well.
“I’m not a musician, but it’s something I enjoy, so I think it was a nice challenge for me in a way that making sketches usually isn’t,” Barton said. “Our goal is to make people laugh and just be vaguely musically talented.”
Backburner’s “Spit in My Mouth: The Musical” will premiere at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Ohio Union in the Cartoon Room. The doors will open at 6:30 p.m. Admission is free for all.
