BreaKthrough: SpecialK! 46th Revue
- Cathy Campo
- 9 hours ago
- 3 min read
By: Aarushi Bisht, Staff Writer
If you thought the Kellogg stage was reserved only for case competitions and recruiting presentations, think again. On October 25th, cast and crew across the Class of 2025 and 2026 returned to the stage for Kellogg’s beloved musical production BreaKthrough, after a successful first run in the spring.
Part parody, part love letter, BreaKthrough captured everything we secretly (and not-so-secretly) adore and endure about Kellogg: the highs and lows, the late-night group projects and the early-morning cold calls, the parties that blur into brunches, the cliques, the professors, and yes—even the existential dread of networking nights colliding with Trolley Night. The Kelloggian talked to the cast and Creative Director to learn more about what went into putting up the 46th edition of this beloved Kellogg legacy.
For Ashwini Deshpande 2Y ‘26, joining Special K! as a cast member was both a debut and homecoming: “I’ve always danced, sung, and dabbled a little in acting back in school. But then, I went to fashion school, so I never really had a chance to do something on this scale.”
That changed at Kellogg. After having tried improvisation and contemporary dance classes, Special K! was the perfect stage to put it all together.
Her favorite line from the show draws from the Fall 2024 #hottakes classic, “You guys are tearing apart the fabric of Kellogg!” It’s a line that perfectly sums up the show: tongue-in-cheek yet oddly profound.
When asked about her character, Ashwini said, “It’s always fun to play the villain. My role was basically Regina George in Mean Girls.”
Offstage, though, her favorite memories came from the moments in between: late-night rehearsals that turned into sing-alongs, bonding with cast and crew, and the kind of friendships you don’t quite expect to find in grad school. “It feels really special to be part of something that’s been around for decades; it’s a legacy.,” she said. Asked to describe BreaKthrough in one word, Ashwini doesn’t hesitate: “Wholesome!”
For Siddarth (Sid) Shikhar 2Y '26, who was the Creative Director (CD) for the 46th show, and a cast member for both the 45th and 46th shows, it went beyond just a performance, transcending into a creative resurgence. “I’d done theatre in undergrad, [and] wrote a lot of plays, but never musicals,” he said. “When I came to Kellogg and saw Special K! 44, I just knew I had to be part of it.”
The CDs took a unique approach to writing the show, with Sid remarking that he was less interested in building rigid characters, and more so in bottling the Kellogg experience itself. “We started by capturing the type of characters, instead of the exact characters themselves, such as the stressors, the comic relief, etc.; and then built characters that could carry those experiences.”
When asked for his favorite character, he said: “You always end up falling in love with your own, but I’ll say Sofia (played by Ariana Sherman, 2Y 2025) from SpK!45. And in BreaKthrough/SpK!46, I loved Baniel Daron and Bruno.”
The Legacy Lives On
Every year, as a new cast, crew and executive team takes on SpecialK!, the Alumni return to show support, and often, even take to the stage to reprise their beloved roles one last time. If you didn’t catch the show on Saturday, fear not—you’ll have a chance to catch Special K! 47 in the Spring. And who knows; maybe you find yourself on the other side of the stage for the next one!
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