Alumni and current students at the Columbia College Chicago Theatre Department, the Columbia College Chicago Music Department, the Columbia College Chicago Television Department, and the Columbia College Chicago Business and Entrepreneurship Department are collaborating on the world premiere of Abduction, a new musical comedy, running May 17-27 at Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont, in Chicago’s Belmont Theatre District. Set in the small town of Pluto, Indiana, the show concerns Pippa Peterson, a 12-year-old introverted inventor, who must save the day before her whole town is beamed into outer space. The show is described as “The Twilight Zone flipped on its head, with a cast of larger than life characters, snappy dialogue, and tunes that will get stuck in your head for light years to come!” Here’s a promotional video for the show:

Abduction is co-written and co-produced by T.J. Pieffer, a student in the Television Department’s BA Program in Television with a Concentration in Writing and Producing. Pieffer, who also appears in the show, is also pursuing an Acting Minor from the Theatre Department.

Sydney Richards, a student in the Columbia College Theatre Department’s BA Program in Musical Theatre, plays Pippa.

The supporting cast includes Jackson Dougherty, Marvin J. Malone, and Kristina Meima, all students in the Columbia College Theatre Department’s BFA Program in Musical Theatre Performance;  Nic Nightingale and Emma Sheikh, both students in the Theatre Department’s Musical Theatre BA program; and Carly Strait, a student in the Theatre Department’s BA Program in Comedy Writing and Performance with a Voiceover Minor from the Radio Department.

Abduction is directed by Columbia College alumnus Nicholas Ware ’17, a graduate of the Theatre Department’s BFA Program in Theatre Directing. The musical director, Annabelle Revak, is a current student in the Theatre Department’s Musical Theatre BA Program. The choreographer, alumna Ligia Sandoval ’16, graduated with a double BA in Musical Theatre from the Theatre Department and Live and Performing Arts Management from the Business and Entrepreneurship Department.

The show’s creative/production team includes Columbia College alumni Chas Z. Mathieu ’17, a graduate of the Theatre Department’s Theatre Design program (set design), Alannah Courtney ’16, a graduate of the Theatre Department’s Comedy Writing and Performance BA program (assistant director), and M.J. Dougherty ’17, a graduate of the Theatre Department’s BA Program in Theatre Technology (stage manager), as well as Theatre Design program student Andy Kloubec (lighting design), Theatre Directing student Madison Kennedy (makeup/hair design), and Theatre Technology student Aryn Henderson (assistant stage manager). The band features alumnus Connor Udvardy ’17, a graduate of the Columbia College Music Department’s BA Program in Music with a Concentration in Instrumental Performance with a Music Business Minor from the Business and Entrepreneurship Department (guitar), and current student Jake Hartge, a student in the Music BA program with an instrumental performance concentration (keyboard).

The show’s executive producers are Columbia College alum Leanne Kelly ’16, who graduated summa cum laude with a Television BA (Concentration in Writing and Producing) and an Acting Minor, and Emily Fremgen, a current student in the Theatre Department’s BA Program in Theatre with a Live and Performing Arts Management Minor from the Business and Entrepreneurship Department.

For tickets, call 773-327-5252 or click here.