Comedy With Heart: Converse Professors Hatch “Waiting for You,” a Musical Perspective of the Afterlife
Heaven. Men aren’t allowed. Two men show up. All hilarity breaks loose. That’s the premise of Waiting for You, the first-ever musical comedy hatched and premiering in Spartanburg. Two Converse University professors collaborated on the zany production.
Dr. David Berry, Daniel Professor of Music, wrote the music and lyrics, and John Jeter, Adjunct, Music Business & Technology and Personal Branding, penned the book and lyrics after Berry approached Jeter a few years ago.
“I loved the idea, totally up my alley,” Jeter says, adding, “I joked with David, ‘I already wrote a couple of books, but I never tried writing any sort of ‘book’ like this.’”
“It’s mind-blowing to see your words and David’s music come to life,” Jeter says, “especially with such an incredible team.”
The production features Converse alumni Kimilee Bryant, ’88, Michelle Newman, ’12, Lauren Painter, ’20, and Gwen Stembridge ’10.
The production features Converse alumna Kimilee Bryant, ’88, Michelle Newman, ’12, Lauren Painter, ’20, and Gwen Stembridge ’10. Current Converse students in the nine-member cast include Grace Collins Cope ’28, Graduate student Mary Ashton Garrett and Joe Tomberlin ’25.
Bryant starred on Broadway in The Phantom of the Opera, the only actor to play all three lead roles in the longest-running play on the Great White Way. Newman, the director, works in Tryon, NC, where she leads Shakespeare & Company, her troupe that extends her experience in more than 200 productions with numerous off-Broadway actors.
Jeter, a nationally published author and freelance journalist, co-owned The Handlebar, the legendary live-music venue in Greenville, for 20 years before joining Converse a decade ago. He arrived at the Petrie School of Music thanks to his sister Sally Hammond Gregg’s suggestion he reach out to the late Dr. Jeff Barker, provost and past president. Gregg, ’81, a Red Devil, went on to work at her alma mater for a total of 14 years.
Berry is a veteran music legend who began 37 years ago at Converse, where he produced his Troiades opera, among other highly acclaimed works. Before that, he was keyboardist and founder of his hugely popular rock band, Anthem. “We got so close to fame, we could smell it,” Berry says of his 17-year touring gig.
Jeter recognized Converse for the University’s support. “We work here, we live here and we believe in this institution as much as this institution believes in us.”
Professor John Jeter
The script and music of Waiting for You deliver rapid-fire jokes and puns, along with sight and audio gags that keep the audience laughing from start to finish.
Jeter says he “flipped” over the cast from day one. “To watch these artists, of this caliber, totally ‘get it’ tells me the audiences will fall in love with them and with this show,” Jeter says.
Jeter also recognized Converse for the university’s support. “We work here, we live here and we believe in this institution as much as this institution believes in us,” he says, then concluding: “I want the audience to walk away from this play singing the songs and laughing and having a great time and supporting this art because art saves lives. I truly believe that.”
Waiting for You: What’s the Story?
Painter plays Susie, a lead role. Spoiler alert: Her too-young, fatally ill character dies at the very beginning. She’s eager to get to Heaven to reap her eternal reward for being the best Susie ever. Bobby, her husband of just a year, promises to love her to Eternity and beyond.
When Susie gets past St. Pennie’s Gate, she discovers Heaven isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. The story gets even wilder when Bobby, who ultimately remarries, tells his new wife, Abbie, that he will love her to Eternity and beyond.
When Bobby somehow gets past the Terminal to Sublime Awesomeness (TSA), he finds Abbie and Susie none too pleased about his promises to both of them. Then Bobby’s lecherous dad, Robby, accidentally enters the scene, where he falls for marquee saints, St. Mattie and St. Marcie.
More About Waiting for You
Waiting for You premieres at the Chapman Cultural Center from April 11-13, 2025, in a limited run of just three shows. The premiere is expected to be livestreamed worldwide.
Jeter recommends getting tickets now, while also checking out this segment on WSPA-TV’s Your Carolina with Bryant and Jeter’s TOWN magazine piece.
For information, visit the website, waitingforyoumusical.com or contact the Chapman Cultural Center.