By Henry Wong

A new musical has come to Broadway with a major twist: it’s all a capella, meaning there are no soundtracks or instruments, only human voices. The name of the show is In Transit and as the name suggests, it takes place in the subways of New York City and follows the lives of 11 New Yorkers.  It’s the first of its kind and its creation can be credited mainly to four friends – Russ Kaplan, Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Sara Wordsworth, and James-Allen Ford. Kristen Anderson-Lopez is so dedicated to the musical that even after winning an Oscar with her co-composer husband for Best Original Song “Let It Go” from the Disney movie Frozen, she still returned to her goal of completing this unique Broadway show. In an interview, co-creator James-Allen Ford said the hardest part about making the musical was “the execution” which “was the most challenging. Finding people who could do the a capella and act and be funny.”

One of the stars in the show is Justin Guarini, an American Idol runnerup and past Broadway performer. Kathleen Marshall, another celebrity in the show, has won three Tony awards and works behind the scenes as the director and choreographer. The musical arrangements were also created with help from a capella expert Deke Sharon who has worked with groups like Pentatonix and worked on the Pitch Perfect films. With such a talented cast and crew, this show is one that everyone should be sure not to miss!