The Theatre Collective of UWEC put on a production of “The Burrow Bar and Grill,” an entirely student-produced full-length musical. The musical was written and composed by Joel Nelson, a third-year creative writing and music student, and directed by Logan Ackerman, a fourth-year English education and theatre student.

Auditions for the show took place in September, and rehearsals occurred twice per week until winter break, when practices became more frequent. Despite the quick production schedule, the process of the musical’s creation went much further back.

“When I decided to write a musical was during my freshman year,” Nelson said. “I was cast in ‘Godspell,’ and I had made a bunch of new friends through that, and a lot of them were aspiring performers [who] all wanted to be in an original cast one day. Me, much more confident than I should’ve been, was like, ‘I’ll write a musical and you all can perform in it.’”

Nelson said from the moment he first brought up his idea of writing a musical to the “Godspell” cast, everyone viewed the project as a pipe dream. Even when he initially brought the eventual director, Logan Ackerman, into the fray, doubts persisted.

“Two years ago, I met Logan for dinner and pitched the idea to him,” Nelson said. “Logan was very receptive. I later learned that he was just egging me on. He was like, ‘If this dude can do it, that’s great, but I don’t think he’s going to finish.’”

Ackerman said he found directing “The Burrow” to be a “playful process,” as he got to collaborate with a close-knit cast and team on how to visualize the brand-new script.

“There’s been a lot more guardrails, guidelines in classes,” Ackerman said. “[‘The Burrow’] has been purely for the love of the arts. Everything about the show is original, all Joel Nelson’s creativity. During the rehearsal process, changes were being made, but in a way where it felt like we were all inputting stuff.”

The musical’s central plot follows Theo, the Burrow Bar and Grill’s future owner, who is struggling when Lawrence, the bar’s old owner, wants to sell the establishment to out-of-towners. The sale becomes complicated when Lily, one of the out-of-towners, falls in love with Theo and the bar.

Nelson said the show’s central conflict is fear of change, and that the idea of found family also plays a significant role.

“One of the main lessons is that change is scary, but it’s mitigated [by] the people you know,” Nelson said. “The thing that’s important is that there’s people who love you and, regardless of how you feel at any moment, those people will be there.”

These themes resonated with audience members such as Abigail Elson, a fourth-year choral education and Spanish education student, and fulfilled Nelson’s goal of having people walking away from his art feeling better than when they walked in.

“I didn’t expect many of the plot points to hit so close to home,” Elson said. “A lot of the things the characters go through are real-world experiences — struggles with friendships, relationships, family and wondering what your value is. Also, they really managed to balance a lot of levity and humor.”

According to Nelson, seeing positive reactions during the show and hearing positive feedback after was very meaningful.

“[The reaction] has been really nice,” Nelson said. “I’m so grateful for how kind people have been. There was this moment of intense relief during the first performance when people were laughing and cheering after songs, and then something would happen in the story, and I’d hear gasps. And then after the show, people are like, ‘This is awesome, you should keep going.’”

While the Theatre Collective’s production of “The Burrow” is complete, Nelson said he still has many other projects in the works, including some more “Burrow”-related content he hopes to release soon.

“The rest of the semester [will be] devoted to making the cast album,” Nelson said. “That will be out on Spotify — please give it a listen. We’re [also] going to try and record the show. Maybe it will be up on YouTube.”

Nelson said he also encourages people to support local theatre by attending shows, especially if, like “The Burrow,” the show is coming from a debut writer or composer.

“While I might have another show coming out in the future, there could be another young composer who poured their heart and soul into making a show, and they somehow got it off the ground,” Nelson said. “The best thing you can do to help them is to go see it, and tell other people to go see it.”

Nelson said he understands that while his goal for “The Burrow” is to grow beyond UW-Eau Claire, this past weekend would likely be the only time it’s ever performed. Still, Nelson is very grateful to have had that experience.

“I have been given lottery ticket after lottery ticket to be able to put on a show like this,” Nelson said. “The fact that people like it is just another lottery ticket. I am lucky, and I am blessed.”

Coleman can be reached at [email protected].