Three graduates of Howard University's Chadwick A. Boseman College of Fine Arts are performing in "CrazySexyCool: The TLC Musical" at Arena Stage, with the show's final performances running through Sunday, Aug. 9.

Mikari Tarpley (BFA '26), Kalen Robinson (BFA '20) and Trenton McKenzie Beavers (BFA '23) are all Georgia natives now working in the Broadway-aimed jukebox musical that chronicles the rise of TLC, the Grammy-winning trio behind "Waterfalls," "No Scrubs" and "Creep." All remaining performances are sold out, though a limited number of standing room tickets are available two hours before showtime at the box office only.

Tarpley, who serves as swing and understudy for the role of Tionne "T-Boz" Watkins, graduated from Howard in May and was on stage at Arena Stage one month later. She chose Howard over Pace University and NYU's Tisch School of the Arts after visiting campus during Springfest 2022 and sitting in on the Area Lab, a session where musical theater students perform before voice, acting and dance faculty for live feedback.

Her training included 8 a.m. dance rehearsals several days a week under instructor Whitney Leigh Brown, who drilled into students that "on time was late, early was on time, and late was unacceptable," according to Howard's news outlet, The Dig.

"I learned so many different things from my teachers about how to represent yourself, especially as a Black person, in the space," Tarpley told The Dig. "Often, we are the minorities in audition rooms and sometimes productions as well. So, I think from my COFA experience, I really learned how to take up space and be bold as a Black person and as a Black artist. It really worked out well with 'CrazySexyCool.'"

Beavers, who plays Tommy in the ensemble, chose Howard because it was the only HBCU offering a BFA in musical theater at the time he enrolled. During his undergraduate years, he and classmates produced a show entirely on their own, handling funding, costumes and choreography. His senior showcase in New York City brought him face-to-face with Broadway legend and Howard alum George Faison.

Robinson, a swing in the production, is a returning Arena Stage performer after appearing in "Chez Joey" earlier this season. She enrolled at Howard in 2016 and by her junior year had booked two professional gigs: "Grease" at Toby's Dinner Theatre in Columbia, Maryland, and "Spring Awakening" at Round House Theatre in Bethesda. When vocal issues required medical attention during that same year, Robinson told The Dig that Howard faculty rallied to prepare her, conditioning her so well that professional theater felt "almost easier than Howard."

Edwin Brown, a professor of theater arts at the college and a Howard alum himself (BFA '13), said the program's intensity is the point. He told The Dig that students develop "an incredible sense of self from our intense training, and that foundation is exactly what sustains you to build a career in a ruthless entertainment industry."

Debbie Allen (BFA '72) attended a performance and met the cast.

The musical runs at Arena Stage's Kreeger Theater, 1101 6th St. SW, with a 2.5-hour runtime and one 15-minute intermission, according to WTOP. Tickets start at $93. The show is directed by Kwame Kwei-Armah and choreographed by Chloe O. Davis, with lead roles played by Holli' Gabrielle Conway (T-Boz), Jade Milan (Left Eye) and Stoney B. Woods (Chilli).

Howard's musical theater BFA program, which requires audition and invitation for admission, is a 120-credit-hour track within the college renamed in May 2021 for late alumnus Chadwick Boseman. Standing room tickets for the final weekend are available in person only at the Kreeger Theater box office, two hours before curtain.