The Fairfield University Glee Club, Theatre Program, and Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts, in partnership with the Greater Bridgeport Symphony and professional actors from Broadway and beyond, presented a first-of-its-kind campus performance, Big River: In Concert, on April 17-18, 2026.
The American classic was chosen in honor of America250—recognizing 250 years since the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
Big River
Based on Mark Twain’s beloved novel, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, and set along the mighty Mississippi, Big River follows the daring journey of Huck Finn and his friend Jim, as they escape into freedom.
The Fairfield production was a staged concert, complete with elaborate backdrop, period-specific costumes, projections, and onstage scenic elements. Sean F. Edgecomb, PhD, associate professor of theatre and of women, gender, and sexuality studies, and director of the Arts Institute, served as director. Michael A. Ciavaglia ’04, DMA, director of choral music and professor of the practice in music, served as music director and conductor.
The concert featured nearly 90 Fairfield University student singers, professional Broadway, Off-Broadway, and national tour actors, and a full symphonic orchestra including Greater Bridgeport Symphony musicians.
Immersive, Real-World Experience
Enriching the University’s educational mission, the production created an immersive real-world theatre experience for students. They engaged with professionals, sharpened their craft, and stepped directly into the creative process.
“This inaugural project represents a dynamic new benchmark for collaboration, student learning, and pre-professional training at Fairfield,” said Dr. Edgecomb. “It has been genuinely exhilarating to witness our students engaging so thoughtfully with our guest professional actors and musicians, and I am confident that this experience will leave a lasting and meaningful impression on our Stags.”
Dr. Ciavaglia described the staged concert as an unprecedented opportunity for students. “They are performing with Broadway actors and professional musicians, right on the stage of our campus home at the Quick Center for the Arts,” he said. “The music is thrilling for the performers and the audience alike—it’s the only stage work by the American country composer and performer Roger Miller, so there’s a real sense of authenticity as we create the world of the American South. Miller uses the musical language of country and Southern Black American music to create a dramatic, exciting, and unique show in that other great American genre: musical theatre.”
