Archive: Arts & Entertainment

The High School Talent Showcase was full of great surprises as student performers wowed the Lansing audience Saturday night.  The event was held to benefit "D-Day," the "Different Day of Learning" that the High School holds approximately every other Spring.  "We've done D-Day since '92," says organizer Julie Berens.

The show included 20 acts of all sorts, music, comedy and even a dramatic reading.  Mistresses of Ceremonies Berens and student Marlene VanEs provided very silly and fun segues and introductions to the acts.  Dressed in sparkly "MC" T-shirts, boas and accessories that ranged from a pirate hat to Viking horns, the pair even performed a couple of acts to fill in for Kelly Geiger who was unfortunately unable to perform due to illness.  These included a very silly dance and an instrumental duet that must have had Mick Jagger rolling Beethoven over in his grave!


Bands included CoolManCool and Daddy-O, decked with sunglasses and the very cool Treyson Barresi, Phil Abbott, Thomas Kraft and Hunter Preston.  Final Call played original tunes plus a drum solo by Jason Weidman, who had a groupie in one of the MCs.  Mike Geiger, Zach Jones and Ryan Mallinson filled out the sound.  Savin Hill featured a strong beat with interesting and dramatic changes in the tunes.  Phil Abbbot, Hunter Preston and Emily Taft produced a great variety of sound in both pieces.  Aestival, featuring Alyssa Halton, Sam Mason, Andrew Allen, Damien Dodge and Tom Kraft produced rich musical sounds in two pieces that featured plenty of angst.


Possibly the stand-out of the evening was Keelin Davis, playing "Symphanie Espagnole, IV: Adante" by Eduardo Lalo.  She attacked the piece will skill, drama, and poise, and had you listening on the edge of your seat as she pulled a virtuoso performance from her violin.  Jason Wentworth accompanied her on piano.


Other solos included Bach's "Prelude to 1st Suite," played by Phil Abbott on cello.  If you closed your eyes you could imagine more than one cello playing.  Susan Lin played a nice rendition of Timothy Brown's piano "Ballade." She was also the only Freshman performing.  Andrew Mowson performed a dramatic reading of a letter from a Civil War soldier, accompanied on piano and violin by Katie Bruno and Keelin Davis.


Comedy leaned toward Monty Python with "Back in My Day" by Terry Jones and "S. Frog" by John Cleese.  In the first piece Andrew Mowson, Will Hicks, Sander Moolin and Andy Lockwood out-hardshipped each other as they recounted trying childhoods.  In the second piece Sander Moolin and Will Hicks argued about a botched advertising campaign.


Molly Webster and Preeti Panda performed a modern dance to Missy Elliot's "Lose Control."  They didn't lose control of the moves.


Vocals included Katie Bruno singing her own "Someone" and accompanying herself on piano, Luisa Alsen singing Fiona Apple's "Criminal," and Stephanie Peter singing a lovely rendition of the Dixie Chicks' "Travellin' Soldier."  Will Hicks sang the dramatic "Hallelujah," the Leonard Cohen song that prime time dramas have been using to underscore important, sad scenes.  The song showed off his beautiful voice, and vocal range.  He was accompanied on guitar by Sander Moolin.



Andy Lockwood brought down the house when he sang "Remember When it Rained," and later performing "As Long As you're Mine" with Katie Bruno.  His outstanding voice and vocal range is riveting, and he controls every note.


D-Day is a special day in which people come from all walks of life to tell students about what they do.  Past D-Days have featured jewelry makers, Olympic champions, recovering adicts, candy makers and cake decorators, and chefs.  There is usually an opening speaker who also participates in sessions.  Teachers can go to the sessions as well as students.  "It all depends on students who are interested in making it happen," says Berens.


The talent show is a great way for students to raise money for the event, showcasing their talents and learning stage presence and performance skills.  High School Principal Michelle Stone was beaming in the first row as the large and receptive audience cheered the performers on.


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