On Dec. 3, 2023, Blank Space Workshop performed “Embrace Your Shades,” an original musical by School of Music, Theater & Dance sophomore Alex Confino. Blank Space Workshop is a student organization at the University of Michigan that produces four student productions per semester to workshop and promote work by student playwrights. To finish off their fall 2023 season, the organization put on Confino’s musical, for which he wrote the book, music, lyrics and musical arrangements.
“Embrace Your Shades” tells the story of Cole, a high school senior with an upcoming audition for Juilliard’s prestigious dance program. However, an unexpected stressor has been added to Cole’s already taxing college application season: Cole now faces the question of his sexuality. Is he gay, straight, bisexual, pansexual, queer or none of the above? In an attempt to safeguard his girlfriend Lilah’s feelings and maintain his reputation at school — while also trying to figure himself out — Cole faces a series of challenges and becomes desperate to understand his sexuality and what this change means for him and everyone around him.
When I walked into Studio Two of the Walgreen Drama Center on the night of Dec. 3, I didn’t know what to expect. I’d never attended a production of a musical in workshop form. The room was set up with chairs for the entire cast and company, paired with a piano that would presumably be responsible for the show’s instrumentals. I took a seat in the few rows of plastic chairs set up for the audience so we could face the actors and excitedly tapped my foot on the ground, awaiting the beginning of the show.
As soon as Confino walked to the middle of the room and introduced himself, the entire room came to life. His confidence, charisma and excitement about his new musical was contagious and electrifying. Effectively, “Embrace Your Shades” was nothing short of what Confino’s brief introduction made it out to be.
The musical consists of ten original songs coupled with 14 original scenes. Confino’s thoughtful songwriting led to the delivery of undeniably catchy songs. The lyrics were so snappy they had audience members singing along on their way out of Studio Two. Songs like “Concentrate!” were the perfect blend of a vibey melody and lyrics that deeply personify the character’s goals, emotions and experiences. Moreover, after listening to “Shooting Star,” I literally felt chills creep up my spine. Talk about lyrics that stick with you after the first listen!
The script is the perfect combination of quirky, witty and insanely relatable. Cole’s journey centers specifically around understanding his sexuality, but senior year of high school is a time of introspection and self-discovery for almost every high schooler, one we are thrown into without warning. Regardless of your sexual identity, you’ll inevitably relate to some aspect of “Embrace Your Shades,” and that’s where the beauty of the musical truly lies. It’s extremely personal, but also incredibly universal, maybe because it presents such a specific story.
“Embrace Your Shades” offers its audience a fantastically creative reflection on what it means to discover oneself and one’s sexuality. Beyond offering the opportunity for people to reflect on their identities, it’s a call to support student theatre and the arts. Student artists are often what pave the way for us to discover a hidden gem we would never have stumbled upon otherwise. The musical left me, and probably everyone else in the audience, yearning for more. Confino, a well-rounded artist in charge of the majority of what went into bringing “Embrace Your Shades” to life, has a bright future in musical theatre ahead of him.
When I made my way out of Studio Two, I was awestruck. As I popped in my AirPods and waited for a bus to take me down to Central Campus, I contemplated what I had just witnessed. I was unconsciously singing along to the songs in my head, unable to focus on the music I had chosen to listen to. I couldn’t stop thinking about Cole’s story and how much I related to his feelings of anxiety and confusion at the prospect of leaving for college while simultaneously trying to understand himself. To put it simply, “Embrace Your Shades” touched me. I knew I would be thinking about it for a long time.
Senior Arts Editor Graciela Batlle Cestero can be reached at gbatllec@umich.edu.