by MICHELLE CHO
Staff Writer
Members of the MTHS Footlights Club performed memorable songs and scenes from a variety of Broadway plays in Showcase 2011 on October 27, 28, and 29. With a combination of plays, including hysterical characters and serious plots, Showcase entertained students and family members, awing them with unexpected and exciting numbers.
An example of many ironic and playful dialogues, junior Zachary Levine and senior Jackie Hanna agreed and rejoiced in their hatred for one another in a conversation from Matterhorn. Stunning not only the audience, but also the other characters in the scene, senior Megan Santalla taught how one cannot appease a tyrant by pretending to plot how to seek revenge on her cheating husband in “The End of Civilization As We Know It”.
To end Act I, Showcase continued its tradition of providing a Halloween number with “This Is Halloween” from “The Nightmare Before Christmas”. While trick or treating, a couple of innocent teenagers were swarmed by ghost and zombie-like townspeople before a special appearance by Jack Skelengton himself.
“The characters were really believable, and it embodied the creepy, but exhilarating spirit of the holiday,” says junior Kylie Davidson.
To jump start Act II, the majority of the cast whipped their hair back and forth during the energetic dance number “Hair”. Changing to less ambulatory, but more feminine clothing for two scenes from “Chicago”, junior Melanie Chu and senior Lindsay Chu joined together for a sister act in “Nowadays”, while six other women, in jail for murdering their husbands, explained their crimes in “Cell Block Tango”.
After numerous spirited and hilarious scenes, fifteen seniors closed the show by performing “With So Little To Be Sure Of” for their last Showcase ever.
“Because I’ve began performing in Showcase since I was a freshman, I have grown to love everyone in the cast. I will miss everybody so much,” says senior Lauren Strenkowski. After months of vocal and dance training, the cast recreated famous and difficult pieces from Broadway plays, including an array of personalities. Without a focal plot or conflict, the audience is always in suspense of what to expect next. The eclectic arrangement of numbers allowed audience members to be on their toes at all times, allowing the cast to successfully surprise and amaze even viewers who have been attending Showcase for several years.