UPDATED: Oct. 1, 2019 at 11:52 p.m.

American TV sitcom “The Office,” which ran for nine seasons on NBC, has been adapted into a touring musical parody slated to stop in Syracuse, featuring a Syracuse alumna and a woman playing the male character lead. 

Writers Bob and Tobly McSmith have previously worked parodies on from TV shows like “Friends,” “Saved by The Bell,” and “Beverly Hills, 90210.” The duo formed the performances around what fans consistently loved the most, said Devina Sabnis, who plays Kelly Kapoor. The show will play at The Oncenter Crouse Hinds Theater on Oct. 3. 

The show will also incorporate original scores like “Marry Me Beesly” and “We Have Fun Here,” composed by Assaf Gleizner who has worked with the McSmith duo before, according to NAC Entertainment’s website,.  

“I think it’s made the show even better and more different than the actual TV show,” Sabnis, an SU alumna, said.  

Michael Scott, manager of the fictional office in the show, is played by Emma Brock, who said she’s excited because “viewers are starting to embrace diversity in the casting process and the actor who gives the best performance.”   

 

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Twenty cast members are featured, all of which play multiple characters.  

“I’ve been in an ensemble before and I’ve had to be different characters, but I never had to do such specific work with each character I played, but I think it’s a lot of fun,” Sabnis said. 

Sabnis, who graduated in May as a musical theater major, said she participated in the Tepper Semester – an undergraduate theater program based in New York City. It was in the city that Sabnis was able to go on multiple auditions while also being taught by renowned professors, she said.  

 “It was by pure coincidence that the audition took place when I did not have a conflicting class,” Sabnis said.  

The tour has brought the musical from coast to coast, beginning in Toronto, Canada, and will perform all the way in California. Sabinas said the touring crew stopped some places featured in the show — like Poor Richard’s Pub — during their run in Scranton, Pennsylvania, where the show is set.  

Touring on different stages can be challenging, Brock said, but stage manager John Fortunato creates a number line system compatible with any stage. 

“Our stage manager is incredible,” Sabnis said, “We always know exactly where we are on stage and he’s adjusted all of the dimensions depending on the stage so the amount of set space stays the same.”  

The only differences end up being the amount of backstage space, which may sometimes make costume changes a little tight, but never a hindrance on the show’s overall quality,  Sabnis said.  

CORRECTION: In a previous version of this post, one of the cast members was misidentified in the photo. the actor in the center is Sarah Mackenzie. The Daily Orange regrets this error.

Published on September 30, 2019 at 12:59 am