An interview with MU student Hannah Klapperich-Mueller

Hannah Klapperich-Mueller

A junior at Marquette University, Milwaukee native Hannah Klapperich-Mueller is making her Milwaukee Chamber Theatre debut. MCT and MU are collaborating on this production of LEND ME A TENOR and Hannah is one of two Marquette students in the cast.


Tell us a bit about your character, Maggie:

Maggie is a young woman with a very vivid imagination and has spent her life in the upper crust of Cleveland's social circle. She's been more sheltered than she would have liked and wants to experience something rather more exciting. Cue global celebrity Tito Merelli, and her search for romance goes a little haywire.

LEND ME A TENOR is a collaboration with Marquette University and you are one of several current students and alumni involved with the show. Any thoughts you’d like to share about your experience as a MU student here at MCT?

Primarily, I just spend every day feeling really excited and lucky to be here. One of the first things I learned in any of my acting classes at Marquette was that watching your fellow actors in rehearsal is the best way to learn, and every moment of this rehearsal process has been a great opportunity to observe and learn from the other people who I'm onstage with. I feel really grateful to have this opportunity to work with so many actors I really admire, and to spend 6 days a week laughing with them.

What are some of the benefits and challenges of performing in a farce/comedy?

The greatest thing about this particular farce is that it has a very specific rhythm that sets up the humor for you. And the show is so funny that it makes every rehearsal zoom by. The biggest challenge is actually keeping a straight face whenever someone adds some brilliant new, humorous wrinkle.

Anything fun you’d like to share with readers about LEND ME A TENOR, rehearsals, etc.
One of my favorite parts of the rehearsals is something that will be lost when we're actually on the set-- to compensate for not having the doors, which are staples for the comedy, we've all been saying "Open" or "Close" or "Slam!" when necessary. Everyone has come up with a way to say these in character, and they've become some of the funniest lines.

What are some of your favorite moments in theatre that made you who you are today? ​

One of the clearest moments I had watching a show and actively thinking "This is going to change my life" was during my senior year of high school when I was on a class trip to the Broadway Theatre Center to see Jim DeVita's one man show IN ACTING SHAKESPEARE (at Renaissance Theaterworks). This was a time when I was really nervous about the prospect of college and studying theatre and the fear that I would fail. But I remember sitting in the Studio Theatre and starting to feel that those worries weren't as important as doing work that I really loved. I still have my program, and sometimes it serves as a good reminder of those same lessons.

We'll see Hannah and her fellow LEND ME A TENOR cast members, April 10-27 in the Cabot Theatre.