The 2019 Senior Showcase was a definite hit. On Friday, March 8, the senior class organized a performance for friends and family that showcased their talents.
Not only were the performers astonishing, but the MCs, Nate Brenner ‘19, Scott Pugh ‘19 and Ryan L’Heureux ‘19, were capable of keeping the audience laughing and on their toes throughout the (roughly) hour and a half long performance.
The show began with L’Heureux’s performance of “Who’s Loving You” by the Jackson 5. L’Heureux brought the house down with his smooth voice and had lots of support from the amazed and excited audience members, who showed their support throughout the song.
Next up was the playful duet of Maya Van Dien ‘19 and Dylan Jarvis ‘19, whose interpretation of “Valerie” by The Zutons was ear-pleasing and overall enjoyable. Van Dien’s velvety voice matched perfectly with Jarvis’ strumming of the guitar.
Charlotte Chipembere’s ‘19 rendition of “Always Remember Us This Way” from A Star is Born, sung by Lady Gaga, was truly incredible as her rhythm-and-blues voice jumped from vocal embellishment to vocal embellishment easily.
Parker Clemons ‘19 strummed the ukulele, creating a tropical tune that matched with Morgan Dye ‘19 and Pugh’s duet to Jason Mraz’s song, “Lucky”, and Kailee McFerran ‘19 belted breathtakingly to “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” by Aerosmith.
Concluding the first act, the WHS staff, including principal Jason Branham and assistant principal Heather Godfrey, had the audience in tears laughing throughout their “Synchronized Swimming” performance. In the dance, the staff’s choreography was perfect and included circle formations, complicated arm movements and even a lift. The piece brought a smile to everyone’s face and left each person eager to see the rest of the show.
At intermission, audience members were able to enjoy baked goods and refreshments, including cupcakes, coffee, cookies and more. The senior class did a great job at keeping the audience preoccupied throughout the break.
Everyone working at the show was extremely friendly, which made the environment all the more enjoyable. When I went to buy a baked good from the snack table, I was greeted with a friendly smile and a recommendation of baked-goods from an ASG student who had given up her Friday night to support the senior class.
All of the performers were modest, yet outgoing. Some of them even went out to talk to those in the audience supporting them at intermission, which really showed how grateful they were, considering that the show was almost two hours in length.
The second act consisted of a hilarious “Slam Poem” from the MCs, another sincere delivery, this time an original song, from Van Dien, and a sweet duet between Isabel Galvin ‘19 and Julia Zhong ‘19 to the song “Over and Over Again” by Nathan Sykes, whose loving friendship and enjoyment of performing was evident onstage. They were accompanied by the pianist who plays for the WHS choral program, Chris Monarch.
Elliot Kim ‘19, Conner Chen ‘19 and Pugh performed “Prelude and Fugue in D minor (BWV 875)” by Johann Sebastian Bach. The song began with Kim showing off his skills on the piano and eventually added Chen and Pugh in a humorous duet.
The show was concluded with Jane Zhang ‘19 singing a complicated Ariana Grande medley that was well put together while Annie Wong ‘19 accompanied her on the piano. Katelyn Waters ‘19 then played the piano and sang to “Since U Been Gone” by Kelly Clarkson and Emerson Kapture ‘19, elegantly performed “Bound to You” by Christina Aguilera. The audience could not only experience her beautiful voice, but also feel the meaning of her performance.
Finally, the ASG seniors performed together for the last time and had everyone in the audience there to support them tapping their toes and wishing to be up there dancing with them. Last was the Class of 2019 slideshow. The video shifted the energy in the room- both parents and students shed a few tears in watching the memories fly by. It was the absolute perfect way to end such a wonderful show.
Throughout the performance, I just kept thinking to myself how incredibly lucky the Warrior Tribe is to have grown so close throughout the years.
From the pure joy expressed by the performers on stage, to the chanting of their names from family and friends in the audience, the class of ‘19 has grown so close. Because of how enjoyable they made the performance, especially to watch, the Senior Showcase was a definite success.
Congratulations Class of 2019, you were wonderful.
