THE WOMEN’S ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION at Northwestern University had a good thing going with its ANNUAL SPRING MUSICAL SHOW. So when Joe Miller and Darrell Ware of the Men’s Union came calling and suggested that the two student groups pool their resources on one big production in 1929, WAA hesitated to share the spotlight with MU. Good thing they relented, because the result was WAA-MU, the musical revue that became a campus institution and launched A THOUSAND SHOW-BUSINESS CAREERS. While Waa-Mu has prided itself on its professional standards, in 1929 the big draw was different: a college show with men and women on the same program.
– A very short list of Waa-Mu alumni: WARREN BEATTY, CLORIS LEACHMAN, JULIA LOUIS-DREYFUS, ANN-MARGRET, TONY RANDALL AND MEGAN MULLALLY.
– Number of Waa-Mus directed by Miller: 44.
– Common bad-luck omen that is considered good luck in the theater: A BLACK CAT.
– Skit featuring Beatty in the 1956 “Silver Jubilee” revue: “WIGWAM WOOING OF WIGAWAMA.”
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“I must confess I had no idea a university musical show could be so good.”
–TRIBUNE CRITIC CECIL SMITH IN 1941
Sources: Tribune archives, “Northwestern University: Celebrating 150 Years” by Jay Pridmore, www.waamu.northwestern.edu.
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nwatkins@tribune.com
