By Paul A. Anthony, Editor in Chief
For two and a half hours, Sing Song 2003 will offer audiences the opportunity to taste joy in a world of terrorism, chemical warfare and weapons of mass destruction.
With such an idea in mind, clubs and classes chose carefree themes for their acts. Hosts and hostesses practiced songs of love and grace and faith. And in the end, the show delivers on its promise of escapism.
The hosts and hostesses are a solid group of students, composed of three men and four women, which could have caused problems had not the choreography avoided most gender pairing.
One of the highlights of the show was the dancing done by the hosts, hostesses and especially the dance team. Starting with “Roller Skate Rag,” the team put on an amazing show of skill by dancing in roller skates, followed by several more acts in which the group did more traditional choreographed numbers.
The hosts and hostesses performed quite well. Lauren Garner’s “I’d Rather be Blue” was well-sung and convincing, while the bluesy-turned-soulful “Amazing Grace” would have been spectacular even without the stunning saxophone solo by Eric Wilson.
Melody Allison sang tremendously on “My Strongest Suit;” however, her strong performance is likely to be swallowed in the delightful swirl of dancers and color on stage with her.
But the showstopper was Layne Rouse’s singing, fiddle-playing rendition of “Devil Went Down to Georgia.” He nails the Charlie Daniels licks bathed in a red glow. It’s no mistake that the only mention of evil in the entire program is defeated by a southern violin player.
Meanwhile, clubs overall declined from last year, when Frater Sodalis, Gamma Sigma Phi and Galaxy all had solid shows.
GSP and Frater Sodalis members both discounted their clubs’ performances after the show. But all three have strong points: the Frats and GSP have clever lyrics, while Galaxy has strong vocals. The edge goes to Galaxy… for now. Of course Sub-T 16 has the funniest show. Like usual, it tries and succeeds at being truly awful-the only act for which that would be a compliment.
On the women’s side, the smaller clubs have a tough time of it. The difficulty of competing against clubs with twice as many hands and voices is readily apparent. GATA and Sigma Theta Chi probably will finish 1-2 for the second year, but which order is tougher to determine. Right now, GATA seems to have an edge.
The classes are much stronger than last year. The freshmen put on a funny, clever act; the sophomores are sure crowd-pleasers with their patriotic theme; the juniors’ lyrics are clever and the seniors actually seemed to care for the first time in the class’s four years of Sing Song. The freshmen and sophomores will battle for first, with the seniors close behind. If the juniors can work out their problems with understandable vocals, they’d be in the race as well.
Overall, Sing Song isn’t quite as memorable as last year. Last year’s theme of “Once Upon a Time” was almost impossible to beat, what with the combination of songs and acts that involved fond childhood memories.
However, a number of fantastic performances from the hosts and hostesses, combined with better classes, help Sing Song end on a high note and also help the audience forget about the world outside Moody Coliseum.
