FMU presents BOOM

The FMU Fine Arts department recently held a production of Peter Sinn Nachtrieb’s “Boom” from 7:30-9:30 p.m. on Feb. 19 at the Performing Arts Center.

“Boom” brought an alternate universe to the stage of FMU. The audience joins the viewing of an animatronics display telling the story of the beginning of our species, in a museum, in a parallel universe where humans are descendants of fish. In this display, we learn about a scientist named Jules, played by Chris Steele, who discovers that the world is going to come to an end through his research. An aspiring journalist named Jo, played by Melissa Gragg, finds her way into his company that night and everything changes with a literal boom.

Dawn Larsen, associate professor of theatre arts, said she has been wanting to produce the play for a while.

“I have wanted to direct ‘Boom’ for six years because it is weird and I love the message,” Larsen said. “I think the message is that people get so caught up in arguing about where we came from and what our religious beliefs are, and this play just tells you that you can never know; faith is faith, but you can’t ever know for sure.”

According to Larsen, they wanted to use a more creative set design to emphasize the content of the play.

“I like using more abstract sets, especially if the story and characters are good, because sometimes it emphasizes the action instead of what it looks like.” Larsen said.

The FMU Theatre will close its 2019-2020 season with Jason Robert Brown’s musical, “Songs for a New World,” from 7:30-9:30 p.m. on April 17 at the PAC.