Amid the release of Suzanne Collins’ latest book, “Sunrise on the Reaping,” Brian Steffen, professor and department chair of media, communication and design at Simpson College, has announced his retirement from academia to bring the world of Panem to a new stage: the ice rink. Steffen will play the role of Haymitch Abernathy in a musical retelling of the first Hunger Games novel.
“There are three things in the world I love most,” Steffen said. “Musicals, especially the brainchildren of Lin Manuel-Miranda, the fiercely athletic and graceful art of figure skating and the promotion of the liberal woke agenda through young adult dystopian literature. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to experience them all simultaneously.”
Steffen was actually considered for the role of Haymitch in the original trilogy’s movie adaptations, but Collins cautioned the casting team, saying that he was too good.
“I worried that if we cast Brian, he would give such a groundbreaking and remarkable performance that he would become the focus of the film,” Collins said. “I didn’t want to take away from the story.”
Now, Steffen is ready to give it his all on the worldwide tour of “The Hunger Games: Musical On Ice,” with dates to be announced soon.
“He is truly the only person in the world who can pull this off,” Collins said. “And this is the only role that, I think, comes anywhere close to demonstrating what he is capable of. I am eagerly awaiting his performance.”
Steffen is confident he will not disappoint.
“I could, and I will do everything Woody Harrelson did, all while belting and landing a quadruple lutz,” Steffen said. “But he would never be able to teach a Simpson Foundations class.”