Masters Academy senior Hannah Wohlever wrote, produced, and starred in her contemporary musical called Coffee Shop. The audience glimpses into a typical day for the main character- Amanda- who owns and works at a cafe named “Rosie’s Corner.” Conversations with customers expressed through the songs present mental health and general life struggles and worries in a raw way with content comparable to narratives such as Dear Evan Hansen. The work evoked a brilliant balance of laughter and tears from viewers. 

Wohlever first and foremost thanks her brother Joshua and the cast for all of their support in creating the production of Coffee Shop. From start to finish, she was not alone, and that’s what she hoped to share similar feelings with the public through the musical. In her own words, it is “nostalgic, wholesome, and real.”

According to Wohlever, the main message is about the fact that “life isn’t perfect in any stretch of the word, but when we come together and when we care about each other and we take the time to talk in the little moments, we can spark the hope and healing we need to keep going.” She continued to emphasize that it’s about “how a community can kind of pull us together and even in our darkest moments, there’s value and there are people who love you.” 

She further shed light on the fact that, “Everyone is struggling with something, so be kind,” and her director said more people should be like Amanda – taking the time to stop and care. She said, “I feel like we’re so focused on being independent, we’ve lost how intertwined we all are, and I felt that in the show, how important it was to know I’m not alone in making it.” The sense of community is “kind of what makes being human easier and joyful,” not feeling the need to hide the raw moments.  Wholever finally noted, “We’re just people trying to get through the day.”

Wholever enjoys storytelling in songs and writing about more than herself. She pulls innovation from everywhere around her. “Piano Man” by the Beatles inspired the music for “Coffee Shop.” She continued to say, “my faith definitely played a big role in it as well. I think people just want a little bit of light.” She wanted to exemplify all types of relationships and noted “It was really cool to see how little pieces of my heart touched other people’s hearts and added a little bit of hope and that’s all I wanted. I wanted to leave people with the feeling everything will be okay.” 

One of Wholever’s favorite songs of the eleven was “Thanks for the Dying Flowers” because of the humor and motivational tone, but she has a special love for the opener “Coffee Shop.” However, she also noted that completing lyrics for “In the Silence ” and the final song “Ghost” posed a challenge at times because of the depth and range of emotions the characters express. A fun fact, though, is that “The Good in You” is actually compiled from three other song ideas she had previously written. 

Wohlever was apprehensive about the decision at first but it set in motion the cascading dominos to opening night in the Master’s Academy Black Box theater. Then, one day, she was “suddenly emailing real people about real things like lighting and microphones.” She continued to smile at how “It kind of felt like we built our own little ‘Rosie’s corner’ in our community.” She proudly said, “It might have started with me, but by the end of it, it didn’t feel like it was mine anymore. We kind of made it our thing.” Wohlever looks forward to the future with her head held high and is eternally thankful for everyone who helped make Coffee Shop happen.