All of the key aspects of fun were on display in this year’s Holiday Cabaret event as it included singing, dancing and laughing. Alpha Psi Omega, the Honors Theater Fraternity, sponsored the event that took place on Dec. 1.
The event included performances from Dangersauce, Mable Buchanan, Wesley Brown and Jehan Silva, Veronica Johns and Torreke Evans, Nathaniel Grudzien, among others.
Dangersauce got the event started with an energetic improv performance, which included playing a game called “Freeze.” During this game, Dangersauce danced until the crowd yelled ‘freeze,’ upon which they stood still and made a scene from the position they were in.
It was amusing to see the awkward positions that the performers would freeze into and it was impressive as well to see how the performers came up with such funny scenes.
Mable Buchanan, a performer for Dangersauce, also had a solo performance during the event. Buchanan performed spoken word, where she took the persona of one of Santa’s reindeer. It was very funny to hear the reindeer point of view.
Next, Wesley Brown and Jehan Silva sang the famous song from Frozen “Let It Go” in the most humorous of ways. Brown explain how he and Silva always perform together during the cabaret, but due to a leave of absence, Silva was not able to be at the performance this year. However, during the climax of the song, Silva jumped from the backstage to a surprised audience, hitting the high notes of the popular song.
Before the performance, when asked if he was nervous, Brown said, “not really, I hope once I start singing the crowd knows the song and sings along.” Brown’s prediction was correct as his song was a huge hit with the crowd.
After Brown and Silva’s performance, Joseph Fox and Toni Martin also sang a Christmas song, which the crowd loved.
Following this act, Nathaniel Grudzien performed a combination of magic and comedy. Entering the stage, the audience did not know what to expect from Nathaniel as it was not clear what his act was, but the audience was blown away by his talent. The crowd loved his performance, and praised it with a great standing ovation.
To end the show, Santa and his elves came onto the stage, and told the crowd a Christmas Story. Moises Miguel, President of Alpha Psi Omega, took the role of Santa as the rest of the member of Alpha Psi Omega took the role of the elves. It was comical to see students dress in these costumes.
Within minutes of the story, Santa, his elves, and the audience broke into song as “Jingle Bells” started to play. It is an Alpha Psi Omega tradition to have shaved ice in a cup while they sing “Jingle Bells,” and during the song, they used the shaved ice to make noise to the beat. When the song was over, the performers threw the shaved ice into the crowd.
The show provided a great time for everyone and allowed them to escape the pressures of the upcoming finals. Jennifer Shillingburg, a member of Alpha Psi Omega, stated that the Holiday Cabaret is “always a great way to bring in the Christmas spirit! The performance is funny and has a feeling of warmth behind it.”
